Legendary Italian Photographer Oliviero Toscani, Icon of Provocative Benetton Campaigns, Passes Away at 82

MILAN (AP) — Oliviero Toscani, the artist renowned for Benetton’s controversial advertising campaigns of the 1990s, who later parted ways with the Italian knitwear company amid controversy, passed away on Monday at the age of 82.

Toscani revealed last year that he was afflicted with a rare condition and was uncertain about how much longer he had to live.

“It is with great sorrow that we share the news that our cherished Oliviero has begun his next journey,” his wife Kirsti and their three children expressed in a statement on Monday.

Toscani battled amyloidosis, a condition marked by an accumulation of abnormal protein deposits in the body. He mentioned to Corriere della Sera last August that he had lost 40 kilograms (almost 90 pounds) within a year, stating, “I’m unsure how much longer I have to exist, but I’m not keen on living like this regardless.”

Toscani expressed a desire to be remembered “not for a specific photograph but for my entire body of work, for the dedication.”

Toscani was the visionary behind the shocking ad campaigns of the 1990s that showcased images such as the pope kissing an imam, which provoked outrage from the Vatican.

Others featuring the United Colors of Benetton included a priest embracing a nun, a newborn with its umbilical cord, and a black woman nursing a white infant, part of the brand’s advocacy for diversity, religious acceptance, and environmental awareness.

His long-standing affiliation with Benetton ended after Toscani incensed relatives of victims from the tragic 2018 Genoa bridge collapse by stating on RAI television, “Who cares about a bridge collapse?” His remarks came in response to a public uproar over a photograph of founding members of a political protest movement alongside pivotal members of the Benetton family, who oversaw the company responsible for maintaining the bridge.

Toscani later apologized in an interview with La Repubblica, remarking: “I am regretful. Moreover, I am ashamed to apologize. I am humanly devastated and profoundly hurt.” However, the damage had been inflicted, and Benetton markedly severed ties with him.