PRIVATE ROOMS: Photographers of the 20th Century
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PRIVATE ROOMS
PHOTOGRAPHerS FROM THE 20th CENTURY
This selection explores 20th-century photography by showcasing the work of some of its greatest artists. Each photographer embodies a unique era, aesthetic, and intention, contributing to shaping our vision of the image and the world. These varied perspectives attest to the richness and diversity of 20th-century photography, reflecting not only each artist’s unique sensitivity but also the historical, cultural, and aesthetic context of each work.
JOHN STEWART (1919 - 2017)
John Stewart is a British photographer born in 1919 in London. He built his career collaborating with prestigious publications such as Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, but it is his personal work that truly reveals the depth of his vision. Among his most iconic series, the one dedicated to Muhammad Ali holds a special place. Created in the 1970s, this series captures the legendary boxer not only in his physical strength but also in his humanity and introspection.
Stewart, as master of natural light, transcends the simple portrait to deliver an almost meditative vision of the man behind the icon. These images, revealing both Ali’s strength and vulnerability, showcase Stewart’s skill in capturing moments of emotional intensity with a timeless aesthetic. Staying away from the spotlight of the star system, John Stewart remains a fascinating figure, celebrated for his ability to combine elegance, depth, and poetry in every one of his photographs.
WILLIAM EGGLESTON (1939 - )
William Eggleston, born in 1939 in Memphis, revolutionized photography by legitimizing the use of color as an art form. A pioneer of everyday photography, he captured mundane scenes from the American South, transforming the ordinary into vibrant and striking compositions. His 1976 exhibition at the MoMA marked a major turning point, establishing color photography within contemporary art. Through his “democratic” and intuitive approach, Eggleston has influenced generations, redefining the way we perceive the beauty of the everyday.
PETER LINDBERGH (1944 - 2019)
Born in 1944 in Leszno, Poland, Peter Lindbergh grew up in Germany and rose to prominence in the 1980s as a leading figure in fashion photography, renowned for his striking black-and-white portraits. Rejecting the artifice of excessive retouching, Lindbergh celebrated natural beauty, showcasing iconic supermodels such as Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Cindy Crawford. His work, often linked to the rise of the supermodel era, delves into profound humanity, transcending traditional fashion norms. Until his death in 2019, he collaborated with the most prestigious magazines and fashion houses, leaving behind a visual legacy marked by sincerity and poetic depth.
JEANLOUP SIEFF (1933 - 2000)
Jeanloup Sieff is renowned for his black-and-white photography, blending fashion, portraiture, and artistic nudes. His work is characterized by a subtle use of shadows and contrasts, along with a keen graphic sense in framing and perspectives. As a contributor to major publications like Vogue and Elle, he captured iconic figures of his era while exploring the sensuality of the human form with restrained elegance. His timeless style continues to inspire contemporary photography.
MELVIN SOKOLSKY (1933 - 2022)
Melvin Sokolsky, born in 1933 in New York, revolutionized fashion photography with a distinctive approach that combined imagination and technical precision. Rejecting the confines of the studio, Sokolsky employed innovative techniques, playing with gravity, perspective, and optical effects crafted without digital retouching. His compositions, often constructed like tableaux, merged meticulous craftsmanship with a boldly avant-garde vision.
This relentless pursuit of innovation established Sokolsky as a pioneer, whose work continues to inspire with its daring creativity and inventiveness.
PETER BEARD (1938 - 2020)
Peter Beard, an American photographer, artist, and adventurer, profoundly impacted the world of photography with a visceral and committed approach centered on African wildlife and the wild landscapes of Kenya. His fascination with the raw beauty of nature, confronted by the ravages of human intervention, led him to settle in East Africa. For Beard, each photograph is not just a frozen image but an entry into his personal diary, a trace of his commitment, intertwining his emotions with the realities of the natural world. “I Will Write Whenever I Can,” created in 1965, perfectly embodies this fusion of visual art and personal journal. As is his custom, Beard combines photography with graphic elements—bloodstains, a feather, handwritten annotations—that transform the composition into a kind of visual confession. This self-portrait, where he depicts himself writing in his journal, becomes a symbol of his work: a raw and sincere testament to his relationship with Africa, where each image is a fragment of his lived experience.
ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE (1946 - 1989)
Robert Mapplethorpe explores classical beauty and sensuality with an often controversial approach. His sculptural portraits of bodies and flowers, composed with an almost architectural rigor, question the boundaries of sexuality and gender, contributing to the evolution of queer art and the representation of sexuality since the 1980s. His aesthetic approach, both classical and transgressive, seeks to elevate controversial themes to the realm of art. This blend of formal beauty and provocation has sparked as much admiration as censorship, particularly within conservative circles, opening a dialogue about artistic freedom in the face of social norms.
JOEL STERNFELD (1944 - )
Joel Sternfeld, a pioneer of color photography in America, documents urban and rural landscapes of the 1970s and 1980s, creating a complex portrait of the United States through scenes that are both mundane and rich in social history. In the series On This Site: Landscape in Memoriam, Sternfeld photographs ordinary places marked by past tragedies: murders, disasters, or social violence. Through these images of everyday landscapes, he reveals the latent and invisible memory of these spaces, questioning our collective relationship to memory and forgetting.
IRVING PENN (1917 - 2009)
Irving Penn significantly influenced modern photography by redefining the codes of composition and portraiture, offering an artistic vision where simplicity becomes a source of depth. Recognized for his ability to transcend everyday subjects and imbue them with rare visual power, he isolates his objects in stripped-down compositions that emphasize their fragility and ephemeral beauty. By mastering lighting and composition, Penn gives them a magnetic presence, transforming the trivial into the iconic.
NAN GOLDIN (1953 - )
Nan Goldin, an American photographer, is known for her intimate and raw work that explores the most personal aspects of life. By documenting her own existence and that of her circle, Goldin has developed a photographic style that is almost akin to a visual diary. Through often raw and emotional images, she captures the realities of love, friendship, sexuality, and moments of fragility, without artifice or judgment.
Her photography focuses on details, gazes, and gestures that reveal deep and personal narratives. With an uncompromising style, she opens a window into often marginalized lives, celebrating the beauty and vulnerability of human experience.
LARRY CLARK (1943 - )
Larry Clark’s work is primarily defined by a raw and unfiltered exploration of photography. His documentary approach captures the intimacy and vulnerability of his subjects with a sometimes shocking realism. His works, such as the photographic series Tulsa, published in 1971, immerse us in the inner worlds of marginalized youth in America, candidly exposing the realities of drug addiction, sexuality, and violence, providing a stark and sometimes shocking mirror of society in the 1960s and 70s.
NOBUYOSHI ARAKI (1940- )
Nobuyoshi Araki’s work serves as a bridge between different facets of the human experience, addressing themes often deemed taboo with disarming authenticity, inviting the viewer to rethink their perceptions of sexuality and intimacy. His work embodies a dialogue between tradition and modernity, offering a poetic and introspective vision of love, suffering, and mortality..
A key figure of Japanese avant-garde photography, Daido Moriyama takes a bold approach to capturing the chaos of post-war Japan. With an instinctive and radical style, he documents the raw energy of Japanese streets, leaving a mark on the history of photography with his distinctive aesthetic: grainy, high-contrast, often black-and-white images that convey the frenzy and strangeness of urban life, particularly in Tokyo.
By redefining street photography with a raw and experimental approach, Moriyama challenges traditional notions of sharpness and composition. His work, both poetic and brutal, continues to inspire new generations of photographers, offering a compelling glimpse into the soul of Japan’s urban landscape.
HERB RITTS (1952 - 2002)
GUY BOURDIN (1928 - 1991)
Guy Bourdin, a master of fashion photography, established a distinctive and unprecedented vision. Born in 1928 in Paris, he captivated the industry with his masterful use of color, enigmatic compositions, and narrative approach. A long-time collaborator with Vogue and creator of iconic campaigns for Charles Jourdan, Bourdin transformed advertising into true works of art, often flirting with the surreal and the uncanny. Rejecting convention, he left a lasting impression with images imbued with sensuality and dramatic tension, cementing his work as a timeless reference in the history of photography.
