Magnum Gallery is pleased to present a new exhibition conceived as a visual dialogue spanning several decades along the Mediterranean coast. This unique curation pairs the work of two Magnum photographers: a selection of Herbert List’s photographs of the Mediterranean (and Baltic) Sea from the 1930s to the 1950s and Zied Ben Romdhane’s images along the Mediterranean coast in present-day Tunisia.

Herbert List’s images take shape around the contours of the Mediterranean, particularly Greece and Italy, portraying bodies and landscapes as archetypes among the ruins, and evoking symbols of Greek antiquity, art and myth. In present-day Tunisia, Ben Romdhane photographs the same sea and sun decades later, capturing the mental state of youth in his home country.

Through these different perspectives, the seascape becomes a state of mind, and the body a capsule for desire, identity, home and exile. List fled Germany in 1936 as the Nazis rose to power, concerned he would be persecuted as a gay man with Jewish heritage. Greece and Italy became his safe havens, where radiant bodies, sculpted marble, and the sea formed an alternative reality to the imminent war, grounded in sensuality. During his time in exile, List could more freely explore the tension between physical proximity and transience. Emphasizing form and gesture, these images defy a fixed chronology.

“Ben Romdhane’s contemporary images gain a historical dimension through their elective affinity with List’s work, while List’s photographs, nearly 90 years old, reach into the present alongside Ben Romdane’s vision,” says Peer-Olaf Richter of the Herbert List Estate.

Curated by Ben Romdhane, Richter, and Gallery Director, Clémence Vichard-Larroque, Under the Same Sun will be open to the public at the Magnum Gallery and Bookstore, 2 impasse Delaunay 75011, from June 27 to September 12.

Works exhibited are available to acquire.
For inquiries, please contact the gallery staff directly or email gallery@magnumphotos.com.