Getty Museum
Tulip
Creator
Robert MapplethorpeAmerican Photographer · 1946–1989
All works by this person →A key figure in late 20th-century photography, Mapplethorpe created work with a distinctive tension between opposites: sacred and profane, mainstream and underground, light and dark. From his early Polaroid portraits, to his fashion photography and later controversial work, Mapplethorpe's photographs are well-ordered and emotionally restrained, with dangerously chaotic and sensuous elements below.
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- 1984
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Culture
- American
- Department
- Photographs
- Institution
- Getty Museum
>Perfection means you don't question anything about the photograph. There are certain pictures I've taken in which you really can't move that leaf or that hand. > > --Robert Mapplethorpe Mapplethorpe presents a tulip, a staple subject of still lifes for centuries, but approaches it in a distinctive way. By choosing to capture the flower in profile, rather than from what would be the intuitive, vertical sightline, Mapplethorpe imbues the image with a sense of motion. The arc of the stem bows below two outstretched leaves, as if floating up or down on wings. After his beginnings with Polaroid portraits, Mapplethorpe refined his style and process in the early 1980s. Drawing on his knowledge of the 19th-century photographs he collected, he used simple compositions and careful lighting to great effect. Considered a central figure in late 20th century photography, his subjects span elegant figure studies, delicate floral still lifes, glamorous celebrity portraits, and the S&M community.
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