Null Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) - Thomas in a Circle, 1987

Vintage gelatin…
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Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) - Thomas in a Circle, 1987 Vintage gelatin silver print applied on original cardboard cm 60,3 x 50,3 (cm 48,7 x 48,8 picture) | 23.7 x 19.8 in. (19.2 x 19.2 in. picture) Edition 7 of 10 Numbered, signed and dated in black ink on the white inferior recto margin and titled, dated, numbered and signed in black ink with photographer's credit stamp on the cardboard verso Framed PROVENANCE Stripped Bare: Photographs from the Collection of Thomas Koerfer ,Christie's Paris, November 9th, 2017, Lot 15 LITERATURE Richard Mashall et al., Robert Mapplethorpe, Whitney Museum of American Art, Bulfinch Press, New York, 1988, p. 170 Mark Holborn (ed.), Mapplethorpe, Random House, New York, 1992, p. 96 W.M. Hunt, The Unseen Eye: Photographs from the Unconscious, Aperture, New York, 2011, p. 132 The American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe quickly established himself as one of the greatest interpreters of the male nude, as this image amply demonstrates. The extreme refinement of the black and white print serves to emphasise the search for an original posture. Here the body is inscribed in a circle, creating a compositional harmony that seems to reproduce the classical Vitruvian Man in a contemporary key.

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Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) - Thomas in a Circle, 1987 Vintage gelatin silver print applied on original cardboard cm 60,3 x 50,3 (cm 48,7 x 48,8 picture) | 23.7 x 19.8 in. (19.2 x 19.2 in. picture) Edition 7 of 10 Numbered, signed and dated in black ink on the white inferior recto margin and titled, dated, numbered and signed in black ink with photographer's credit stamp on the cardboard verso Framed PROVENANCE Stripped Bare: Photographs from the Collection of Thomas Koerfer ,Christie's Paris, November 9th, 2017, Lot 15 LITERATURE Richard Mashall et al., Robert Mapplethorpe, Whitney Museum of American Art, Bulfinch Press, New York, 1988, p. 170 Mark Holborn (ed.), Mapplethorpe, Random House, New York, 1992, p. 96 W.M. Hunt, The Unseen Eye: Photographs from the Unconscious, Aperture, New York, 2011, p. 132 The American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe quickly established himself as one of the greatest interpreters of the male nude, as this image amply demonstrates. The extreme refinement of the black and white print serves to emphasise the search for an original posture. Here the body is inscribed in a circle, creating a compositional harmony that seems to reproduce the classical Vitruvian Man in a contemporary key.

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ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE (New York, 1946- Boston, 1989). "Lisa Lyon," 1982. Gelatin silver, printed in 1982, mounted. Exemplar 1/10. Provenance: Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, Phillips, "SPOTLIGHT: Photographs from a Private London Collection," 2023 and Private Collection, Spain. Bibliography: R. Mapplethorpe, Lady: Lisa Lyon, New York: St. Martin's, 1983, p. 94 (variant). Signed and dated by Michael Ward Stout, executor, in ink, copyright ownership, limitation of reproduction and signature stamp on reverse of recessed mount. Measurements: 38.7 x 38.4 cm: 66 x 64 cm (frame). Lisa Lyon achieved fame as the first female world bodybuilding champion. In 1980 she met Mapplethorpe and began a great friendship that led to a prolific artistic relationship. Lyon's physique allowed the photographer to portray subjects of his interest such as androgyny, the anatomy of classical statuary or even American culture. Since 1980, Mapplethorpe began a series of portraits in which Lyon was captured under his lens in multiple ways, one of them being photography. All this work was immortalized in the book Lady: Lisa Lyon (1983). American photographer, known for her sensitive yet forceful treatment of controversial subjects in the black and white medium of photography. Her work included a variety of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-portraits, and images of dead flowers. His most controversial work is of the BDSM subculture in the late 1960s and early 1970s in New York City. The homoeroticism of this work fueled a national debate over public funding of controversial artwork. Mapplethorpe worked primarily in a studio, and almost exclusively in black and white, with the exception of some of his later work and his final exhibition "New Colors." His body of work features a wide range of subject matter, but his primary focus and the bulk of his work is erotic imagery. He would refer to some of his own work as pornographic, aiming to arouse the viewer, but which could also be considered great art.His erotic art explored a wide range of sexual themes, depicting the BDSM subculture of New York in the 1970s, depictions of black male nudes and classic nudes of female bodybuilders. Mapplethorpe was a participant observer in much of his erotic photography, participating in the sexual acts he was photographing and engaging sexually with his models. Other subjects included flowers, especially orchids and lilies, children, statues, and celebrities and other artists, such as Andy Warhol, Louise Bourgeois, Deborah Harry, Kathy Acker, Richard Gere, Peter Gabriel, Grace Jones, Amanda Lear, Laurie Anderson, Iggy Pop, Philip Glass, David Hockney, Cindy Sherman, Joan Armatrading, and Patti Smith. Smith was a roommate of Mapplethorpe's and a frequent subject of his photography, including an iconic, somber photograph that appears on the cover of Smith's first album, Horses. His work often referenced religious or classical imagery, such as a 1986 portrait of Patti Smith that recalls Albrecht Dürer's 1500 self-portrait. Between 1980 and 1983, Mapplethorpe created more than 150 photographs of bodybuilder Lisa Lyon, culminating in the photo album Lady, Lisa Lyon, published by Viking Press and featuring text by Bruce Chatwin. Bibliography: R. Mapplethorpe, Lady: Lisa Lyon, New York: St. Martin's, 1983, p. 94 (variant)