Self Portrait, 1975 © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used by permission.
Robert Mapplethorpe. Le forme del classico
The major retrospective of Robert Mapplethorpe, Robert Mapplethorpe. The Forms of the Classic is organised and promoted by Marsilio Arte and the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in collaboration with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation in New York.
Le Stanze della Fotografia in Venice announces their next major exhibition, devoted to a true, and still in many ways controversial, star of international photography: Robert Mapplethorpe (New York, 1946 – Boston, 1989). Curated by Le Stanze della Fotografia’s artistic director, Denis Curti, the show Robert Mapplethorpe. With over 200 works, some exhibited for the first time in Italy, the exhibition places special emphasis on the classical perfection of his compositions. Themes explored include the sensuality of the human body, the beauty of flowers and the visual dialogue between photography and ancient sculpture.
Robert Mapplethorpe. Le forme del classico has been conceived as the first act of of a larger trilogy, part of a path of study and research aimed at deepening and broadly investigating the figure of Mapplethorpe, which includes two other exhibition events in 2026. Robert Mapplethorpe. Le forme del desiderio will be the second chapter in this wide-ranging examination of Mapplethorpe’s oeuvre, and will be staged at Palazzo Reale in Milan, displaying a retrospective of his work, with a selection of his most iconic, powerful and daring images, focusing on the more intense and provocative aspects of his artistic output. Robert Mapplethorpe. Le forme della bellezza will be held at the Museo dell’Ara Pacis in Rome and will focus on his studies of beauty understood as classical harmony, with detailed comparisons between images and a selection of significant pictures taken in Italy that have not been previously shown. On the occasion of the trilogy, a substantial catalogue is published by Marsilio Arte. The volume, which accompanies the three exhibitions, vast body of work and the evolution of Mapplethorpe’s language through 257 works.
The exhibition is distinguished by its celebration of bodies and classicism, with photographs that evoke the aesthetics of ancient statuary, portraying male and female bodies in timeless perfection. An entire section is devoted to collages and readymades from the 1960s, experimental works that embody Mapplethorpe’s exploration of artistic identity. The flowers, protagonists of poetic and ambiguous images, represent the author’s minimalist and evocative approach, in which delicacy and depth intertwine. Finally, iconic portraits, ranging from his companion and muse Patti Smith to Lisa Lyon and personalities such as Andy Warhol, Susan Sontag and Truman Capote, complete a visual journey that celebrates the complexity and uniqueness of the photographer’s work.
As curator Denis Curti notes, the American artist has been able to reinterpret classical aesthetics, transposing the perfection of sculpture into contemporary images. The result is a bridge between past and present, where sensuality, light and composition come together to create unique works.
The exhibition also offers an important opportunity for young talent through an open call for photographers under 30. Selected works will be exhibited both in Venice and at the MIA Photo Fair in Milan, thus promoting a new generation of artists. Find out more about the open call >