Carlo Orsi Archive

The photographer Carlo Orsi (1941-2021) with his Leica traversed the world as a witness for five decades: a pupil of Ugo Mulas, he established himself as a great fashion photographer and photoeditor of international magazines, without however ever losing his profound connection with hometown, Milan, which tells through images in all its aspects: from fashion, to design and the skyline, leaving a legacy of a huge archive of shots, strictly in black and white.

The photographic archive

Starting from the acquisition of the already digitized shots, a first structure of the digital archiving system was created, through which the cataloging of over 11,000 images is underway.
This activity is preparatory to the preparation of materials for the photographer's next exhibition at the MaCoF museum - Museum of Italian Photography and constitutes the basis for proceeding with a more analytical and complete cataloging of the artist's production, which also includes print proofs, editorial production and personal archive.

The new site

Technical needs require an update of the photographer's old site, to make it "responsive" and prepare it for the online publication of a wider reasoned selection of the artist's shots, to give the possibility of telling his complex biography divided between travels and collaborations international and his constant return to the city of Milan, without neglecting his intense editorial activity.

Carlo Orsi Archive


The photographer Carlo Orsi (1941-2021) with his Leica traversed the world as a witness for five decades: a pupil of Ugo Mulas, he established himself as a great fashion photographer and photoeditor of international magazines, without however ever losing his profound connection with hometown, Milan, which tells through images in all its aspects: from fashion, to design and the skyline, leaving a legacy of a huge archive of shots, strictly in black and white.

The photographic archive

Starting from the acquisition of the already digitized shots, a first structure of the digital archiving system was created, through which the cataloging of over 11,000 images is underway.
This activity is preparatory to the preparation of materials for the photographer's next exhibition at the MaCoF museum - Museum of Italian Photography and constitutes the basis for proceeding with a more analytical and complete cataloging of the artist's production, which also includes print proofs, editorial production and personal archive.

The new site

Technical needs require an update of the photographer's old site, to make it "responsive" and prepare it for the online publication of a wider reasoned selection of the artist's shots, to give the possibility of telling his complex biography divided between travels and collaborations international and his constant return to the city of Milan, without neglecting his intense editorial activity.

L'archivio di Carlo Orsi vanta una straordinaria collezione di negativi in bianco e nero e un'innumerevole quantità di stampe, tutte magistralmente realizzate dallo stesso fotografo in camera oscura. Questo prezioso materiale, interamente analogico, è conservato con estrema cura dalla dedita curatrice dell'archivio.