Éléments pour une histoire photographique de la critique de cinéma : la photothèque d’Ugo Casiraghi

This article proposes elements for a photographic history of film criticism by examining the circulation, uses, and material functions of film stills within Italian postwar critical practice. Focusing on the extensive photothèque of the communist critic Ugo Casiraghi (1921–2006), now preserved in Gorizia, the study situates photographic images as central tools in the reception, interpretation, and mediation of cinema. Drawing on archival research, oral testimonies, and material analysis, the article reconstructs the processes of collection, classification, and reuse of film photographs across journalism, festivals, and encyclopedic publishing. It argues that film stills operate as fragments, fetishes, and paratexts, simultaneously shaped by market logics and critical strategies. Ultimately, the article contends that control over the circulation of images contributed to the institutionalization of film criticism and to the construction of its historical authority beyond the movie theater.