Gian Paolo Barbieri

Born in Milan to a family of fabric wholesalers, Gian Paolo Barbieri performed in amateur dramatics in the 1950s and had a non-speaking role in Visconti’s Medea. Influenced by cinema, he photographed models in 1960s Rome and was part of the social scene depicted in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita.

A self-taught photographer, Barbieri apprenticed under Harper’s Bazaar photographer Tom Kublin and later shot for Italian, American, and French Vogue. He opened his own Milan studio in 1964, worked closely with ready-to-wear designers, and photographed models including Jerry Hall, Monica Bellucci, and Audrey Hepburn, as well as campaigns for Armani, Versace, and Dolce & Gabbana.

In the 1990s Barbieri became a travel photographer, and his work was exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Kunstforum Vienna. He shot in analog without retouching and received the Biancamano Prize in 1968. Barbieri died in Milan on 17 December 2024, at the age of 89.