Andrea Bettancini

The art of war

Some shots from an ongoing photography portfolio. A series dedicated to capturing the portrait of an extraordinary individual that I am trying to narrate. Antonio Merendoni is an Italian art historian and archivist, the world\'s leading expert on individual combat with \"cold weapons,\" encompassing swords, daggers, staffs, maces, and, in general, all weapons designed for striking and cutting, used in conflicts from the 1300s to World War II. Through archival analysis of ancient and modern texts and by examining images in works of art, he reconstructs combat techniques used in the past, applying them to the training of armed forces, police forces, and special forces worldwide. War transcends centuries, a constant in human history; artistic iconography reveals the unchanging brutality of close-quarter combat in battles.

Photographer

Andrea Bettancini

"My entire educational background has unfolded in the realm of creativity. First, I attended an art high school, and then I pursued studies at the European Institute of Design in Milan within the Fashion Design and Styling department.

I worked as a designer in Milan for various clothing brands and collaborated with an architecture magazine within the Mondadori publishing group (Ville e Giardini). I favor reportage, street photography, and, in general, visual storytelling, often through the fusion and contamination of images that develop a symbolic, non-analytical language.

I am drawn to human interactions that generate unpredictable and complex situations, whether dramatic or humorous. It often happens that people, even strangers, engage in a fleeting moment. They may not be aware, but a photograph can 'freeze' that moment, ephemeral but full of meaning.

I have been a finalist and winner in numerous photography awards, including Sony Awards, ND Awards, Trieste Photo Days, Siena Awards, World Water Day, Leica Street Photography, All About Photo 'The Mind's Eye,' Gomma Black and White Awards, Lens Culture, Yicca International Contest of Contemporary Art, and Portfolio Italia."

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