Guido Rey (Italian, 1860–1935)

b. 1860 — d. 1935

Guido Rey Italian, 1860-1935 Guido Rey began photographing mountain landscapes around 1885. Although influenced by photographers Emilio Gallo, Vittorio Besso, and his cousin, Vittorio Sella, Rey turned to the classical world for inspiration around 1893, studying antique architecture, furniture, and costumes to give his work an authenticity and spirit that would impress photographers Wilhelm von Gloeden and Baron von Pluschkow. Rey exhibited his classically inspired work in 1898, winning a gold medal at the National Exposition in his native Turin. By 1902, however, having internalized the paintings of Jan Vermeer, he began to incorporate a new poeticism in his photographs, creating luminescent and strong chiaroscuro effects within intimate, domestic arrangements. That year, in the exhibition Fotografia Artistica, he was lauded by his contemporaries for his fresh approach. Through his written contributions to the Studio, exhibitions in New York, Chicago, and London, and inclusion of two photographs in Camera Work in 1908, Rey became of the best known Italian pictorialists. K.L.C.