Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 13
Robert MapplethorpeGardenia1978
1978
About the Item
Robert Mapplethorpe earned his place in the canon from his incredible output of images that ranged from beautiful to brutal. Mapplethorpe was one of the key artists who helped elevate photography from image-making to fine art.
Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) fearlessly depicted the body (his own, friends' and lovers') in a way that positioned his work in line with masters such as Reubens, Courbet and Eadweard Muybridge to mention a few.
Despite the sometimes shocking content of his work, Mapplethorpe's photographs possess a formalist quality with their undeniable beauty and strict compositions.
From 1978-1981, Mapplethorpe created thirty-nine black and white photographs that make up his acclaimed XYZ Portfolios. While each portfolio is a distinct exploration of Mapplethorpe's signature subject matter, when combined, XYZ Portfolios serves as a definitive and in-depth representation of his mature and most sought-after, period.
(Of the portfolios, X explores homosexuality and sadomasochism; Y features floral still life; while Z showcases portraits of Black men) Click here to see a portrait from the Z portfolio.
In 2012, the XYZ Portfolios were shown in an exhibition at LACMA and presented in three rows (X on top, followed by Y in the middle, and Z below) as Mapplethorpe had envisioned them in 1989.
"Gardenia" is one of thirteen images from the Y Portfolio, featuring a fragrant and graphic flower. Shot overhead, this tranquil image captures a delicate flower subtly floating in a dark, contrasting bowl. Aside from the flower's shadow below, the still water is nearly inconspicuous, contributing to the air of grace and elegance that this piece evokes. While the depiction is straightforward, Mapplethorpe's contrasts lead to a more ambiguous image; is this actually a flower or some alien specimen being examined?
This powerful black and white image is a prime example of Mapplethorpe's work, highlighting his studio-centric practice as well as his refined and meticulous printing.
This is a rare opportunity to acquire an iconic work by one of the most influential photographers of the 20th Century. Caviar20 is proud to be offering this monumental and important piece.
"Gardenia"
USA, 1978
Gelatin silver print
Signed in ink by Michael Ward Stout and credited and dated on photographer's estate stamp, mount verso.
13.25"H 12.75"W (image)
16.75"H 16"W (framed)
Very good condition
Provenance: Xavier Hufkens, Brussels
- Creator:Robert Mapplethorpe (1946 - 1989, American)
- Creation Year:1978
- Dimensions:Height: 13.25 in (33.66 cm)Width: 12.75 in (32.39 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Toronto, CA
- Reference Number:
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe was born on November 4, 1946, in Floral Park, New York. He left home in 1962 and enrolled at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, in 1963, where he studied painting and sculpture and received his BFA in 1970. During this time, he met artist, poet, and musician Patti Smith. She encouraged his work and posed for numerous portraits when they lived together in Brooklyn and in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan, a gathering place for artists, writers, and musicians in the early 1970s.
It was not Mapplethorpe’s original intention to be a photographer, and from 1970 to 1974, he mainly made assemblage constructions that incorporate images of men from pornographic magazines with found objects and painting. In order to create his own images for these collages, Mapplethorpe turned to photography, initially using a Polaroid SX-70 camera. Interested in portraiture, Mapplethorpe worked as a staff photographer for Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine. He also produced album covers for Smith and the group Television, and at the same time photographed socialites and celebrities such as John Paul Getty III and Carolina Herrera.
Mapplethorpe had his first substantial shows in 1977, both in New York: an exhibition of photographs of flowers at the Holly Solomon Gallery and one of male nudes and sadomasochistic imagery at the Kitchen. Mapplethorpe’s diverse work — homoerotic images, floral still lifes, pictures of children, commissioned portraits, mixed-media sculpture — is united by the constancy of his approach and technique. The surfaces of his prints offer a seemingly endless gradation of blacks and whites, shadow and light, and regardless of subject, his images are both elegant and provocative. In the mid-to-late 1980s, returning to the sculptural use of photography seen in his early assemblages, Mapplethorpe created sensual diptychs and triptychs of photographs printed on fabric and luxurious cloth panels.
In 1988, four major exhibitions of Mapplethorpe’s work were organized: by the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; and the National Portrait Gallery, London. Mapplethorpe died due to complications from AIDS on March 9, 1989, in Boston.
Find original Robert Mapplethorpe photography on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by Cerbera Gallery)
About the Seller
4.8
Vetted Seller
These experienced sellers undergo a comprehensive evaluation by our team of in-house experts.
Established in 2009
1stDibs seller since 2015
172 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: <1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Toronto, Canada
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Waterski JumperBy WeegeeLocated in Toronto, OntarioArthur Felling, better known as Weegee (1899-1968) is America's premiere photojournalist and one of the last century's most influential photographers. He would become famous, beyond...Category
1950s American Modern Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Weegee "A Trip to Mars"By WeegeeLocated in Toronto, OntarioWhile many first associate Weegee (aka Arthur Fellig) with New York City crime scenes, perhaps a broader and more consistent theme is that of spectacle and/or urban entertainment. The origins of his nick-name and reputation date back to the 1930s when he became the first New York City press photographer to obtain permission to install a police radio in his car. Following the city's first responders and documenting their duties, Weegee had unprecedented access to New York’s fires, crimes, debaucheries and of course, murders. During the first decade of his career these unflinching urban tragedy or crime images paid Weegee's bills, but as he became more financially independent he was more inspired to pursue photographs on his own agenda. While his oeuvre is vast, Weegee was especially drawn to entertainment: nightlife, circuses, the theatre, showgirls, city thrills, the cinema etc. Some of Weegee's most dynamic and tender (and under-appreciated!) images are related to simply having fun (in a crowd). He was not confined to one neighbourhood or demographic. He captured action, faces and events from Coney Island to the Bowery and Greenwich Village, to Times Square and Harlem. In “A Trip To Mars,” Weegee depicts a multi-generational group crowding around a large telescope...Category
1940s American Modern Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Weegee "Sailor and Girl Kissing"By WeegeeLocated in Toronto, OntarioWeegee (1899-1968) was equally fascinated and inspired by cinema and all of its tangents, from Hollywood movie stars to ordinary civilians going to the movies. While Weegee is typically associated with crime/disaster images, the broad theme of "entertainment" is a major component of his oeuvre. An interesting and provocative sub-genre of his cinema-related work are his images of couples (often heavy-petting) in movie theatres. Recent scholarship has established that many of Weegee's supposed clandestine images were actually staged or arranged with friends or co-operative strangers. Nevertheless, Weegee created these photographs in the dark with an array of clever techniques including infrared film, filtered flashbulb and triangular prism lens. Employed in shots such as this one, the prism lens would allow the artist to “see around corners,” useful at times when his subjects were in compromising locations. These images of kissing couples, Weegee wrote in 1959, were “his best seller, year in and year out.” "Sailor and GIrl at the Movies...Category
1940s American Modern Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Weegee "Distortion: Stripes"By WeegeeLocated in Toronto, OntarioInnovative, provocative, inimitable - these are just a few of the words to describe America's boldest photographer. Arthur Fellig, better known as Weegee (1899-1968) was a ground-breaking, successful (and notorious) photojournalist. His images shot on the streets of New York City are iconic and influential. In the 1930s he became the first New York City press photographer to obtain permission to install a police radio in his car. This allowed him to follow the city's first responders and to document their duties; responding to fire, crime, debauchery and of course, murder. By the early 1940s Weegee was experiencing fatigue with crime reportage. Ironically, this was also the point when he finally began experiencing professional validation and acclaim, to the point of being a minor celebrity. Notably in 1941 he was included in The MoMA's seminal "50 Photographs by 50 Photographers" (curated by Edward Steichen). The museum would also acquire five Weegee photographs...Category
1940s American Modern Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Groom Kissing His BrideBy Diane ArbusLocated in Toronto, OntarioDiane Arbus (1923-1971) is one of the most influential and daring photographers of the 20th century. Arbus is best known for her unique form of documentary portraiture. She explored the uncanny, the marginalized, and the idiosyncratic characters who defied mid-century conformity. Her work has influenced some of the most renowned photographers of our time including Nan Goldin. While her career launched in the fashion world, it was years after quitting commercial photography (circa 1956) that she found her voice as an artist. With camera in hand, she followed her fascination with the eccentric individuals and oddities of New York City. Ultimately rejecting her affluent, sheltered upbringing and the mainstream fashion industry to create her own definitions of beauty. Arbus’ portraits were considered incredibly provocative for their bold representations of sexuality, chaos, and grit. She fully immersed herself within the queer and alternative communities she documented, engaged with a curious balance of mystery and homage. Shot in 1966, "Groom Kissing His Bride" is a prime example of her uncanny ability to capture even the most traditional moments (a wedding) through a lens of surrealism. Love and tension confront each other as the groom kisses the bride with an attacking passion. Her likeness disappears behind his embrace and their newlywed bodies merge together. This work also contains Arbus’ visual trademarks – a black and white palette, a square crop, and a hard flash that flattens the aesthetic wonderland of New York. Today, Arbus' work is celebrated in many major museum collections including the Art Gallery of Ontario, Art Institute of Chicago, National Museum of Modern Art (Tokyo), and Centre Pompidou (Paris). "Groom Kissing his Bride, NYC" USA, 1966 Gelatin-silver print Printed by Neil Selkirk Stamped 'A Diane Arbus photograph...Category
1960s American Modern Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- PistolBy Andy WarholLocated in Toronto, OntarioAndy Warhol began using the big-shot Polaroid camera in 1971 and continued using it religiously until his death in 1987. Despite the camera being discontinued in 1973, he continued t...Category
1980s American Modern Black and White Photography
MaterialsPolaroid
You May Also Like
- "Natalia Makarova " vintage photography. "Serge Lifar "Located in CANNES, FR"Natalia Makarova " is an gelatin print , silver bromide, numbered and signed photograph offered to " serge Lifar " by Max Waldman . Artist proof . Ser...Category
1970s American Modern Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Man with CatBy Christopher MakosLocated in Wilton Manors, FLChristopher Makos, American Photographer b. 1948. Tattooed Man Holding Cat, ca 1970. Signed in red pencil on verso. Size 8.25 x 10 inches. Unframed and unmounted. This example was...Category
1960s American Modern Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- New York City, HarlemBy Harold L. HarveyLocated in Dallas, TXTitled, dated and artist stamp.Category
1930s American Modern Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Patsy Pulitzer, Private TransportBy Slim AaronsLocated in New York, NYSlim Aarons Patsy Pulitzer, Private Transport 1955 C print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Patsy Pulitzer rummag...Category
1950s American Modern Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Patsy Pulitzer, Private TransportBy Slim AaronsLocated in New York, NYSlim Aarons Patsy Pulitzer, Private Transport 1955 C print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Patsy Pulitzer rummag...Category
1950s American Modern Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Patsy Pulitzer, Private TransportBy Slim AaronsLocated in New York, NYSlim Aarons Patsy Pulitzer, Private Transport 1955 C print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Patsy Pulitzer rummag...Category
1950s American Modern Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Black Men
Floral White
Monumental Black
White Flower Silver
Black And White Floral
Centre Piece White
Retro Black Bowl
Three Black Flowers
Black And White Vintage Flowers
Black And White Vintage Floral
Black And White Floral Vintage
Vintage Flower Art Black And White
Robert Maplethorpe
Mapplethorpe Robert
Robert Grace
Robert Maplethorpe Art
Modern Floral Black And White
Black And White Modern Floral