“Calla” by Beatrice Brandini
Robert Mapplethorpe “Maybelle”, 1982. The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, New York
From 23 September to 14 February 2024, the Museo del Novecento pays homage to one of the great masters of photography, Robert Mapplethorpe, in an unprecedented comparison with the shots of Wilhelm von Gloeden and a selection of photographs from the Alinari Archive.
Robert Mapplethorpe, Sonia Resika, 1988. The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, New York
Glimpses of the Beauty and Desire exhibition
Forty years have passed since the beautiful and revolutionary exhibition of 1983, which made Mapplethorpe’s genius known right here in Florence, or since that of 2009, in which his works were compared to Michelangelo’s masterpieces. This new exhibition, also made possible by the necessary contribution of the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation and the Alinari Foundation for photography; is the second that this museum dedicates to photography, an art form that has revolutionized the history of art since the nineteenth century.
Robert Mapplethorpe, Untitled (Slave), 1974. The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, New York
Robert Mapplethorpe, Antinous, 1987. The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, New York
Wilhelm Von Gloeden, a German photographer active mainly in Italy, made the “mise en scène” his distinctive stamp; settled in Taormina, he used young Sicilian models who he dressed and had them interpret characters of Hellenic or Roman classicism. He was recognized as a great photographer, protagonist of international exhibitions, Oscar Wilde was a frequenter of his atelier. In 1999 the gallery owner Lucio Amelio sold his collection – archive to Fratelli Alinari.
Moments from the Beauty and Desire press conference, Sergio Risaliti Director of the Museo del Novecento
Fratelli Alinari, Lilium and Calla, 1896
The exhibition, curated by Sergio Risaliti, director of the Museo del Novecento, together with Eva Francioli and Muriel Prandato, enhances, with an important number of images, the artist’s connection and search for classicism. Mapplethorpe’s approach in his beautiful and poetic photographs, an almost sculptural point of view, especially in the male and female nudes.
Robert Mapplethorpe, Lisa Lyon 1982. The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, New York
Robert Mapplethorpe, Patti Smith, 1986. The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, New York
Born in New York in 1946, to a large Catholic family of Irish origins, Mapplethorpe, curious and intelligent, absorbed what was happening in America and in particular in New York, a city that was the protagonist of female emancipation and homosexual pride, of student revolts, criticism of the Vietnam War, but also ostentation, machismo, nightclubs, drugs…
Wilhelm Von Gloeden, Faun, about 1890 – 1900. Alinari Archives
Wilhelm Von Gloeden, Hypnos, 1907 – 1908. Alinari Archives
The love and affection that will bind him throughout his life to Patti Smith is significant (the photo of him on the famous cover of the Horses album) is the 70s, in which the artist uses a Polaroid, works forgotten and only rediscovered after his death.
Glimpse of the Beauty and Desire exhibition
Wilhelm Von Gloeden, The Girl from Mandanaci, 1880 – 1885. Alinari Archives
“The immediacy of the process went well with his temperament. He slept during the day and worked at night. I would wake up and catch him staring at the bodies sculpted by Michelangelo affixed to the wall.” Patti Smith
The most important episode, probably a “turning point” in Mapplethorpe’s professional life, told by Patti Smith in the book “Just Kids”, is the one linked to the discovery of the entire photographic collection of the MOMA museum in New York, largely secret to the general public. “Being allowed to lift the vellum of the photographs, to touch them, and get a feel for the paper and the artist’s hand, it made an impression on Robert; he studied everything with the utmost attention, the paper, the development, the composition and the intensity of the blacks. “It’s all about the light,” he said. Patti Smith
Wilhelm Von Gloeden, Tripolitana, 1903 – 1904. Alinari Archives
Fratelli Alinari, Bacchus by Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1916. Alinari Archives
In 1973 the first solo exhibition, “Polaroids” at the Light Gallery in New York. But it is thanks to a Hasselblad, a gift from mentor Sam Wagstaff, that Mapplethorpe has control of what he was looking for, thanks to this machine he will produce hundreds of masterpieces that will make him famous throughout the world.
Famous for the “Porfolio X”. For this reason the use of gay subjects, often authentic couples, protagonists of the New York S&M scene, portraying them in extreme poses. And if all this was revolutionary and important for the debate on freedoms (concepts in today’s common lexicon, but very difficult only a few decades ago), for many years it was also a reason for rejection and hostile criticism towards his work.
Robert Mapplethorpe, Ken Moody, 1983. The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, New York
In 1988 the Whitney Museum of American Art held its first major American museum retrospective, and the following year he died at just 42 years old.
There have been many photographers who have been inspired by Mapplethorpe’s work, but honestly no one has managed to reach his level of grace and, at the same time, intensity. Mapplethorpe, after all, was only looking for beauty.
Robert Mapplethorpe, Self-portrait, 1985. The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, New York and Wilhelm Von Gloeden, alleged self-portrait as a Nazarene, 1903. Alinari Archives
The exhibition is very interesting, as well as beautiful, because it connects shots taken in different eras, but artistically very close, if there were no captions it would be difficult to distinguish them. And this is further confirmation of how important the baggage of the past is, especially when it comes to beauty and culture, and how this inspires the present and the future. Michelangelo himself paid homage to the classicism of ancient Roman art in his powerful and wonderful sculptures.
Good life to everyone!
Beatrice