Slim Aarons: La Dolce Vita

by Slim Aarons

“Nostalgia-soaked images.” —Harper’s Bazaar“Sumptuous images.” —Publishers Weekly“It’s the next best thing to time travel.” —DuJour magazine   This lavish volume of Slim Aarons photography revels in this photographer’s decades-long love affair with Italy. From breathtaking aerials of the Sicilian countryside to intimate portraits of celebrities and high society taken in magnificent villas, Slim La Dolce Vita captures the essence of “the good life.”   Slim Aarons first visited Italy as a combat photographer during World War II and later moved to Rome to shoot for Life magazine, yet even after relocating to New York, he would return to Italy almost every year for the rest of his life. The images collected here document the aristocracy, cultural elite, and beautiful people, such as Marcello Mastroianni, Ursula Andress, Joan Fontaine, and Tyrone Power, who lived la dolce vita in Italy’s most fabulous places during the last 50 years.   Tracing a journey from the 1940s to the 1990s, Slim La Dolce Vita takes us to Italy’s fashionable resorts, to its magnificent historic cities and small atmospheric towns, and to glorious landscapes, all reflecting the pleasures of the Italian art of living. Here is a rare glimpse into the lives of the preeminent families’ formal and informal circumstances, photographed in their palaces and on their estates, at their vacation villas and favorite haunts. Handsome men are in tuxedoes. Voluptuous women wear their most glorious gowns. Families walk beautiful gardens.   Here is your chance to experience la dolce vita in this one-of-a-kind coffee table celebration of all things Italian.

240 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2012

About the author

Slim, one of the most influential photographers of his generation, started during World War II when he served as a combat photographer for Yank magazine in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. After the war he became a freelance photographer for many magazines including Holiday, Town & Country, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Travel & Leisure, Look, and Life. Many of the pictures in this book were originally commissioned by the legendary Frank Zachary who for many years was editor-in-chief of Holiday and then Town & Country. In 1997, Getty Images signed on to represent the Slim Aarons collection and now serves as the primary curator of his work.

His editor and longtime friend Mr. Zachary wrote in his introduction to the book: “Slim has documented the life of the rich, the privileged, and the leisured for fifty years. Without animus or adulation, he has mirrored the changing countenance of society—face lifts and all. His sustained focus on this historically inaccessible segment of society is without parallel in the annals of photography and possibly even literature . . . Slim’s achievement stands alone. It is the only visual chronicle (and in living color, too) of the privileged class in our time ..."

Reviews

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summer Reading Challenge: Unusual/new genre (coffee table book)

Wow! I discovered Slim Aarons after watching a documentary on his work. This photography coffee book is the stuff of dreams!

The people and the photographs seem real and authentic - beautifully interesting, not cookie cutter perfect. Some photos are a bit grainy or dark. Reading the descriptions bring the people in the photographs alive. Young and old. Families. All individuals who breathed ratified air. Many beautiful and rich. Many with "it". All self-assured and seemingly viable and sporting. Elegance personified. It was uplifting to see people beautifully enjoying life.

Temporary marriages and typical "it" crowd behavior. Very small bikinis occasionally (and one full frontal nude!) but they always felt artistic vs. vulgar. The non-swim wardrobes were refreshingly non-vulgar: elegant and stylish, obviously high quality, covering the body, no visible labels. Understated wealth. Most are timelessly elegant. The women's hairstyle occasionally date the photographs more than anything else.

I would buy Slim Aaron's books to flip through again and again. Highly inspirational. I loved the environmental portraits (such character!) and the candid/personal photos (so intimate!). I did not love the nudes & bikinis.