Robert mapplethorpe

Robert Mapplethorpe. Phillip. 1979. Gelatin silver print. 14 × 14" (35.6 × 35.6 cm). The Family of Man Fund. 66.2016. © 2025 Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Photography

Robert Mapplethorpe became one of the most well-known American photographers of the 20th century.

This image depicts two figures wrapped in white, blanched gauze, their heads bound together into a cocoon like, sculptural form. Like many of Mapplethorpe’s photographs a careful balance is created here between bondage and freedom, ecstasy and pain. Mapplethorpe took reference from Auguste Rodin’s expressive and erotic late 19th and early 20th century sculptures throughout his career and this influence can be seen in the sensual movement and energy of this photograph.

“If I had been born one hundred or two hundred years ago, I might have been a sculptor, but photography is a very quick way to see, to make a sculpture.” — Robert Mapplethorpe. Two amazing retrospectives that explored the breadth and depth of this master’s work.