Manicomio — Raymond Depardon Steidl, 2013

This is Raymond Depardon's Manicomio, first published in 2013 by Steidl, a stark and immersive portrait of Italy's psychiatric institutions on the cusp of their dissolution. Shot over multiple visits in the 1970s, but published decades later, Manicomio contains some of Depardon's most intimate and restrained photographic work — a humane record of interiors and individuals caught in the quiet violence of institutional life. The portraits are frontal, often seated, unposed; their subjects appear alert, distant, lost, or amused, always grounded in their physical surroundings — cracked walls, open courtyards, beds arranged with geometric care. The book is a study in repetition and small variation, evoking both the daily rhythm of the asylum and the broader political erasure of its inhabitants. Released in trilingual format (English, French, Italian), Manicomio arrives not as exposé, but as the rare work of documentary that refuses spectacle, and instead stays close to the people it depicts.

Technical Sheet
Title: Manicomio
Artist / Author: Raymond Depardon
Date: 2013
Technique / Printing Method: Offset
Medium / Materials: Softcover
Dimensions (cm): 29.5 × 20.3
Language: English, French, Italian
Pages: 208
Publisher / Editor: Steidl
ISBN: 978-3-86930-535-6
Condition: Like New