From May 19 to October 18, 2026, the Museo Diocesano Carlo Maria Martini in Milan is hosting the exhibition Werner Bischof. Point of view, curated by Andréa Holzherr, Marco Bischof and Tania Kuhn. The exhibition, organized 110 years after the photographer’s birth, offers a broad survey of his work, restoring the complexity of a central figure in 20th-century photojournalism.
Born in Zurich in 1916 and who died in Trujillo, Peru, in 1954, Werner Bischof was a member of the Magnum Photos agency from 1949. His production is distinguished by a humanistic approach that combines documentary attention and formal image construction. The exhibition brings together 200 original vintage photographs, flanked by contact sheets and a documentary that trace his work through a perspective that is still relevant today, centered on respect for the dignity of the subjects portrayed.
The exhibition is divided into four chronological sections. The first, devoted to his years in Switzerland between 1932 and 1945, documents his training and early experiments. This is followed by the section on post-World War II Europe, between 1945 and 1948, with images that bear witness to the aftermath of World War II, an event that profoundly affected the author’s vision. The third part collects reportages made in Asia between 1949 and 1953, in countries such as India, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Indochina. The section devoted to travels to the American continent between 1953 and 1954, the concluding phase of his research, closes the itinerary.
The images on display show a constant attention to composition, formal balance and gradations of black and white, elements that contribute to the expressive power of his language. Bischof often accompanied his photographic work with notes, sketches and drawings, as evident in his diaries, tools through which he built a direct relationship with the contexts and people he observed. The exhibition is accompanied by a program of in-depth talks and guided tours. The catalog is published by Dario Cimorelli Editore.
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| Werner Bischof on display in Milan: 200 photographs at the Diocesan Museum |
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