Sergio Larrain (1931–2012) published very few books during his lifetime, but perhaps the most celebrated was Valparaíso. He photographed this Chilean seaport throughout his career, but it was in the early 1960s, when he returned to his homeland after traveling the world as a Magnum photographer, that it became a focus of his attention. He saw it as “a sordid yet romantic city,” standing between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, falling into a slow decline as its trading importance faded away, yet still retaining hints of beauty and magic.
Sergio Larrain: Valparaíso is based on a layout designed by Larrain in 1993 in response to the original French edition of 1991. It features a text by Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda, specially written for Larrain; an essay by Agnès Sire; and a selection of previously unpublished photographs taken between 1952 and 1992, expanding the original thirty-six images to a total of 120. Handwritten notes and texts by Larrain himself accompany the photographs.
Reviews
A stunning book by one of the best photographers of the 20th century. You can almost smell the briny air of the decaying coastal town in Larrain's spellbinding photos of its people, fish, and ghosts.
— Hyperallergic
Using a casual but incisive style, Larrain documented the theater of the Chilean port city, fully believing that the remarkable phenomenon of Valparaíso could be explained in photographs… The book is beautifully designed [and] its pages reveal the photographer as a lonely romantic, full of incredible love for place and the deep pain of broken dreams.
— PhotoBook Journal
Contributors
Sergio Larrain
Author
Sergio Larrain (1931–2012) was a Chilean-born Magnum photographer.
Pablo Neruda
Text By
Agnès Sire
Text By
Agnès Sire has been the director of the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris since its creation in 2003.
