The famous Italian photographer, who revolutionized advertising with his shocking campaigns for Benetton, died this Monday, January 13, 2025 following amyloidosis, a rare and incurable disease.
Oliviero Toscani, an artist who shook up the codes of advertising
“It is with immense sadness that we announce that today, January 13, 2025, our beloved Oliviero has embarked on his next journey,” his family announced on Instagram. Born in 1942 in Milan, Oliviero Toscani had established himself as a key figure in photography since the 1980s, notably thanks to his historic collaboration with Benetton. “I hate artistic photography”he said in 2010. “Photography becomes art when it provokes a reaction in us, whether it is interest, curiosity or attention.”
Author of campaigns that marked an entire generation
It was through his advertising campaigns for United Colors of Benetton that he truly revolutionized the genre, directly addressing burning social issues. Among his most memorable works are a black woman breast-feeding a white child (1989), a man dying of AIDS surrounded by his family (1992), a nun kissing a young priest (1992) and portraits of condemned prisoners. American deaths (2000). “It is not a photo that makes history, it is an ethical, aesthetic and political choicee”, explained the man who saw several of his campaigns banned in France and Italy.
A fight to the end despite illness for Oliviero Toscani
Suffering from amyloidosis, a rare disease that creates insoluble protein deposits in tissues, the photographer lost 40 kilos in one year. “I’m not afraid of dying. As long as it’s not painful,” he told Corriere della Sera in August 2024.
-Until the end, he retained his free and provocative spirit, he who affirmed : “I have always been free. I only regret the things I didn’t do, not the things I did.”
The Benetton group paid him a final tribute on Instagram: “To explain certain things, words are not enough. This is what you taught us. Goodbye Oliviero. Keep dreaming.”
