Page 79 - PROTAGONIST 132

Previous page: Helmut Newton, Close up, Eye to Eye, Italian Vogue. On this page: Helmut Newton, Karl Lagerfeld for Chloé, Stern.
Bordighera, 1982 ©Helmut Newton Foundation Poggibonsi, 1977 ©Helmut Newton Foundation

From cinema, specifically, Newton borrowed the idea Rampling, Romy Schneider, Catherine Deneuve, Mick Jagger,
that the gaze is always desiring: it is this, combined with the Nastassja Kinski, David Bowie, Elizabeth Taylor or Arthur
provocative allure of his subjects, that the photographer loved to Miller) also demonstrate Newton’s extraordinary ability to evoke
portray outside the aseptic studios indoors, capturing them along the mystery behind the scenes of each face. And the same is true
the streets or poolside, on the rooftops of modern skyscrapers or of the many self–portraits that dotted his career.
in the gardens of decadent villas. To convey a sensual restlessness There are thousands of thousands of photos taken by
and disturbance that, from erotic, even comes to be charged with Newton over the course of this career; more than 200 are
mystery and moral ambiguity. collected in the exhibition entitled Helmut Newton. Legacy, the
The photographs he took of his subjects in the nudes, elegant most comprehensive ever mounted on him, which after touring
even when controversial, are legendary, but the many portraits the world has landed in Venice, where it will remain until
made of personalities who have, like him, marked the history of Nov. 24, hosted in the Photography Rooms of the Giorgio Cini
the twentieth century (Gianni Versace, Andy Warhol, Charlotte Foundation.

Protagonist Portrait 77