PASOLINI: IL VANGELO SECONDO MATTEO, del ‘ladro di anime’ Domenico Notarangelo

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Pier Paolo Pasolini's passing,

The Italian Institute of Culture in Brussels is pleased to present a photographic exhibition that celebrates one of the cinematic masterpieces of Pier Paolo Pasolini: Il Vangelo secondo Matteo (1964). The exhibition features extraordinary images taken by photographer Domenico “Mimì” Notarangelo, acclaimed as the "soul thief" for his artistic ability to capture the inner world of his subjects through an exterior lens. The event offers a new and evocative interpretation of the film that Pasolini made with great devotion and radicalism, crafting a profound and revolutionary vision of the Christian message.

A poet, writer, and director among the most emblematic of the 20th century, Pasolini always considered cinema as a tool to narrate and investigate the contradictions of society and human existence. The 'Il Vangelo secondo Matteo', in addition to being one of the peaks of his cinematic career, it is a film that departs from traditional biblical depictions to immerse itself in a reading of the Christian message that is both modern and authentic.

In this exhibition, the photographs of Domenico Notarangelo – the photographer who accompanied Pasolini during the film's shoot – transport us into the world envisioned by the director, where sacredness and everyday reality intertwine, with the latter presenting itself as a manifestation of the sacred. Notarangelo’s images capture moments of intense spirituality, but also the humility of the locations, the dust of the fields, the simplicity of the actors' faces, making The Gospel According to Matthew a work that is both profoundly earthly and, at the same time, sublime. The director and the photographer, through their respective arts, embody a vision that, despite its austerity, deeply conveys the sense of humanity in the world.

The photographic exhibition is complemented by works from Giuseppe Palumbo, Valentina Mir, and Silvio Cadelo, which explore Pasolini and Matera through painting, drawing, and collage. Together with Notarangelo's photographs and texts by Maria Fonzino, Maurizio Camerini, and Alessandro Manna, they form the editorial experience Pasolini 1964. Beyond Matera and the Mediterranean, published by the Action30 collective.

Included in the exhibition is also Giuseppe Palumbo's illustrated poem “Le Farfalle” (“The Butterflies”): a vision, a dream in 14 panels, depicting Pier Paolo Pasolini wandering through the Sassi of Matera, reflecting and realizing today what he had already foreseen in 1964.