From April 10, 2025, to January 6, 2026, Le Stanze della Fotografia in Venice, located on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore, will host a major exhibition dedicated to Robert Mapplethorpe, one of the most iconic, refined, and controversial photographers of the 20th century. Curated by Denis Curti, Artistic Director of Le Stanze della Fotografia, and organized by Marsilio Arte and Fondazione Giorgio Cini in collaboration with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation in New York, this retrospective marks the first chapter of a three-part exhibition project that will continue in 2026 with events in Milan and Rome.
A journey into classical beauty through photography
The exhibition, “Robert Mapplethorpe. The Classical Forms”, brings together over 200 works, some of which are being shown in Italy for the very first time. The exhibition path begins with Mapplethorpe’s 1960s collages and ready-mades, and continues with portraits of Patti Smith, Lisa Lyon, and international icons such as Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Susan Sontag, Glenn Close, Yoko Ono, and Richard Gere.
The display deepens the dialogue between contemporary photography and classical art, highlighting the connection between the sculptural quality of Mapplethorpe’s portraits and ancient statuary. His male and female nudes, iconic portraits, and his famous images of flowers—calla lilies, tulips, orchids—are transformed into timeless photographic sculptures, shaped by light and perfect composition.
A poetic and unprecedented tribute to a master of the lens
As Denis Curti emphasizes, the Venetian exhibition sheds light on how Mapplethorpe reinterprets classical aesthetics to explore themes such as desire, identity, gender, and sensuality, using a cultured and visionary language. Each image, meticulously crafted, becomes a bridge between past and present, between formal rigor and emotional intensity.
The exhibition also features vintage objects and archival documents from the Mapplethorpe Foundation: personal letters, vinyl records, posters, rare editions, and two short films directed by the artist himself.
