The great African portraitist Seydou Keïta lived in Bamako, Mali from 1921 to 2001. A self-taught photographer, he opened a studio in 1948 and specialized in portraiture. Seydou Keïta soon photographed all of Bamako and his portraits gained a reputation for excellence throughout West Africa. His numerous clients were drawn by the quality of his photos and his great sense of aesthetics. Many were young men, dressed in European style clothing. Some customers brought in items they wanted to be photographed with but Keïta also had a choice of European clothing and accessories - watches, pens, radios, scooter, etc. - which he put at their disposal in his studio. The women came in flowing robes often covering their legs and their throats, only beginning to wear Western outfits in the late 60s. Seydou Keïta worked primarily with daylight and for economic reasons took only a single shot for each picture. Seydou Keïta was discovered in the West in the 1990s. His first solo exhibition took place in 1994 in Paris at the Fondation Cartier. This was followed by many others in various museums, galleries and foundations worldwide. He is now universally recognized as the father of African photography and considered one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century. "It’s easy to take a photo, but what really made a difference was that I always knew how to find the right position, and I never was wrong. Their head slightly turned, a serious face, the position of the hands... I was capable of making someone look really good. The "photos were always very good. That’s why I always say that it’s a real art." Seydou Keïta, Bamako, 1995/1996 © André Magnin
Jean Pigozzi: African CONTEMPORARY Art Collector
The Jean Pigozzi African Art Collection, based in Geneva, is the largest private collection in the world of contemporary African art, dedicated to artists who live or lived in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a passionate personal adventure that made its mark by means of careful and unbiased choices.
The collection was born of the meeting of Jean Pigozzi, an Italian, Harvard-educated, venture capitalist and André Magnin, a French independant curator, specialized in art from non-Western cultures, and especially sub-Saharan art. It came into being at a time when non-Western contemporary art was largely ignored on the international scene, and was founded shortly after the exhibition The Magicians of the Earth in Paris in 1989 at the Georges Pompidou Center and the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, the first truly international exhibition where contemporary works from all over the world were shown on an equal footing.