Former iconic Benetton photographer
Oliviero Toscani, 82, was hospitalized Friday in the emergency
room at the hospital in Cecina near Livorno and his condition is
very serious with a terminal disease, family sources said.
Toscani, who lives in nearby Casale Marittimo near Pisa, was
hospitalized Friday morning due to the worsening of his health
condition two years after being diagnosed with the incurable
disease, amyloidosis, which was made public by the photographer
himself last August.
Tiscani told Corriere della Sera last summer he was thinking of
ending his own life after starting to waste away with
amyloidosis, a rare disease characterized by a build-up of
abnormal protein deposits in the body
Toscani, who courted controversy with Benetton photo campaigns
showing an AIDS sufferer as a pietà and three identical hearts
labelled black, white and yellow, as well as others against war,
religion and capital punishment, said he would like to be
remembered "not for any one photo but for my whole work, for the
commitment".
Other provocative snaps included a cheeky jean-clad backside
captioned "whoever loves me, follow me," a kiss between a priest
and a nun, the faces of men condemned to death, and the body of
a woman eaten up by anorexia.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
