C.L. Ragghianti, Cinematografo Rigoroso
Translated and edited by Marie-Claire Lynette Desjardin
Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti’s many contributions to Art History and Criticism have been increasingly recognized over the last decade for their continued resonance and validity in modern academia. An understudied area of influence is his contribution to proto-film studies. Cinematografo Rigoroso, first written in 1932 and then subsequently republished by the author in 1952 and 1975, presents an early analytical examination of the popular medium of cinema by repositioning it in comparison with classically recognized forms of visual art. Translated for the first time into English, the essay expresses Ragghianti’s intuitive intellection of contemporary scholarship and public interest which would feature predominantly throughout his later career.