Sergio Larrain: Valparaiso

Chilean photographer Sergio Larrain (1931–2012) published very few books during his lifetime, but perhaps the most fêted among them was Valparaíso. He photographed this Chilean seaport throughout his career, but it was in the early 1960s, when he returned to his homeland after travelling the world for many years as a Magnum photographer, that it became a focus for his attention. He saw it as ‘a rather 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. Now published in English for the first time with an introduction by Agnès Sire as well as a specially written text by Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda, this new edition of Valparaíso is based on a layout that Larrain designed in 1993, in response to the original French edition of 1991. It also includes a selection of previously unpublished photographs taken between 1952 and 1992, expanding the original 36 images to a total of 120. This intimate book features handwritten notes and texts by the artist himself, allowing us to share his singular vision of the world and its moments of grace.