Matteo Tranchellini

Matteo Tranchellini is an Italian illustrator and photographic postproduction artist based in Milan, known for his long collaboration with photographer Moreno Monti on image-led projects, including the CHICken series. Born in Latina in 1968, he works where illustration, retouching, compositing, and visual concept building overlap. His practice matters because it turns raw photographs into polished editorial images with a clear authored style.

What does Matteo Tranchellini do?

Tranchellini works in the visual stages that shape a finished image after the camera has done its part. Photographic postproduction covers retouching, colour correction, compositing, cleanup, and other adjustments that make an image read clearly and consistently. Illustration adds another layer: hand-built graphic decisions, drawn details, and visual structure that can guide tone and emphasis.

That combination places him in a practical middle ground between making and finishing. The work is not simply technical correction, and it is not illustration in isolation. It is image construction, where the final result depends on judgement about balance, texture, and how much alteration still feels believable.

How did his collaboration with Moreno Monti work?

Tranchellini’s public profile is closely tied to his collaboration with Moreno Monti. The two have lived and worked together in Milan for more than twenty years, and their process is described as a shared authorship rather than a division between one photographer and one editor. That matters in visual culture because some projects depend on a single image voice even when more than one person builds it.

In the CHICken series, that partnership is part of the subject. The photographs present chickens in posed, affectionate pairings, and the conceptual clarity of the series relies on careful editing as much as on the original shoots. Tranchellini’s contribution sits in the transformation of those images into something humorous, tidy, and legible as a body of work.

What does his work look like in practice?

Work like Tranchellini’s is often invisible when it succeeds. The goal is not to advertise retouching but to make an image hold together: backgrounds cleaned up, colours controlled, surfaces balanced, and any composited elements integrated so they do not look pasted in. In editorial and art-direction contexts, that kind of labour affects whether an image feels amateur, slick, surreal, or precise.

Because he also works in illustration, his process likely includes an eye for graphic simplification. That can mean choosing what to remove, sharpen, or stylise so the picture carries an idea quickly. In collaborative image-making, this is not secondary work; it is the stage where a concept becomes readable.

Why does Tranchellini matter?

Tranchellini is useful as an example of the many practitioners who shape contemporary imagery without always being foregrounded as authors. Visual culture depends on photographers, illustrators, retouchers, and postproduction artists working together, especially in editorial and conceptual projects. His career shows that authorship in a photograph can be distributed across several hands and several kinds of expertise.

He also represents a Milan-based studio culture in which long-term collaboration produces a stable visual language. That kind of continuity matters because it creates recognisable output over time, not just one-off images. In projects such as CHICken, the result is a style that feels deliberate, coherent, and carefully finished.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Matteo Tranchellini a photographer?

He is described primarily as an illustrator and photographic postproduction artist, not as a photographer. His work supports and transforms photographic material rather than standing only in front of the camera. In collaborative projects, that distinction matters because the final image depends on more than capture alone.

What is photographic postproduction?

Photographic postproduction is the work done after a photo is taken to prepare or transform it. It can include retouching, colour grading, compositing, masking, and removing visual distractions. In editorial and art projects, postproduction often shapes the image’s tone as much as the shoot itself.

Why is the CHICken series associated with him?

The series is credited to the collaboration between Moreno Monti and Matteo Tranchellini, and Tranchellini’s role is part of the project’s final visual identity. The images depend on both the original photography and the postproduction that gives them their polished, comedic clarity. That shared process is central to how the series works.