Mapplethorpe

Robert (1946-1989). American photographer born in New York. Mapplethorpe had a passion for the saxophone, which he studied and played with some talent, but later decided to enroll at the Pratt Institute, from which he graduated in 1970 with a diploma in photography. His first images were influenced by his collaboration with the singer and poet Patti Smith, one of his fellow students and, at that time, his muse. After starting with a Polaroid camera, he then progressed to a Hasselblad, which he used solely on a tripod. He remained faithful both to black-and-white images and the square format, which he considered particularly harmonious. His relationship with fashion was not a direct one, even though it was intense: before dedicating himself entirely to research (portraits, nudes, and his shocking flower photographs), he produced the volume Lady in 1983 with images of the model and bodybuilder Lisa Lyon wearing designs by Armani, Ferré, Carolina Herrera, Montana, Krizia, Saint Laurent, and others.