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Robert Mapplethorpe

The American artist Robert Mapplethorpe dominated the world of photography during the outgoing 20th century and was one of the most important and provocative photographers of his time. He was a cultural figure during his lifetime. No other photographer has been so controversially debated both during his life and after.

His technical precision left nothing to chance and the objective photographic approach he took towards his models was as though he was documenting sculptures. It was often highlighted all the more by his focus on isolated details of individual body parts. Mapplethorpe returned to the iconography of ancient and renaissance art, developed his own photographic style, and designed a neo-classical image of the human body, which found its way into his commercial photography. His inimitable photographic style is characterized by radically reduced compositions of formal perfection, imbued with extraordinary sculptural qualities. The thematic diversity and the immediacy found between the photographer and his subjects make Mapplethorpe's photographs timeless and gives them an irresistible appeal.

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  • Robert Mapplethorpe, Sonia and Tracy, 1988

    gelatin silver print
    15.35 x 15.35 in (39 x 39 cm)

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  • Robert Mapplethorpe, Flower, 1986

    gelatin silver print
    19.29 x 19.29 in (49 x 49 cm)

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  • Robert Mapplethorpe, Thomas, 1986

    gelatin silver print
    24.02 x 20.08 in (61 x 51 cm)

  • ×
  • Robert Mapplethorpe, Raymond, 1985

    gelatin silver print
    19.29 x 14.96 in (49 x 38 cm)

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  • Robert Mapplethorpe, Pear, 1985

    gelatin silver print
    14.96 x 14.96 in (38 x 38 cm)

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  • Robert Mapplethorpe, RM Glass Collection, 1984

    gelatin silver print
    14.96 x 14.96 in (38 x 38 cm)

  • ×
  • Robert Mapplethorpe, Hat, 1984

    gelatin silver print | edition of 10 + 2 AP, ed. 4/10
    14.96 x 14.96 in (38 x 38 cm)

  • ×
  • Robert Mapplethorpe, Calla Lilies, 1983

    gelatin silver print
    20.08 x 16.14 in (51 x 41 cm)

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  • Robert Mapplethorpe, Michael Spencer, 1983

    gelatin silver print
    20.08 x 16.14 in (51 x 41 cm)

  • ×
  • Robert Mapplethorpe, Dennis Speight, 1983

    gelatin silver print
    20.08 x 16.14 in (51 x 41 cm)

  • ×
  • Robert Mapplethorpe, Jack Walls, 1982

    gelatin silver print
    20.08 x 16.14 in (51 x 41 cm)

  • ×
  • Robert Mapplethorpe, Lisa Lyon, 1980

    gelatin silver print
    14.17 x 14.17 in (36 x 36 cm)

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