The Classic Style of Patrick Demarchelier

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aesthetics, art, art criticism, Claudia Moscovici, contemporary art, contemporary photography, fashion, fashion photography, fine art, fineartebooks, fineartebooks.com, Patrick Demarchelier, Patrick Demarchelier photography, photography, photography Patrick Demarchelier, Romanticism and Postromanticism, The Classic Style of Patrick Demarchelier

photo by Patrick Demarchelier

Leonardo Da Vinci is quoted as saying that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” I think that this true statement definitely applies to the photography of Patrick Demarchelier. Demarchelier received a camera as a gift on his seventeenth birthday, which is how his passion for this art began.

photo by Patrick Demarchelier

Later, he pursued this interest professionally in Paris, working as a fashion photographer along with (and learning from) legends in the field such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Jacque Guilbert.

photo by Patrick Demarchelier

Over the course of his long and very successful career, Demarchelier has worked for magazines such as Elle, Marie Claire, Mademoiselle and Vogue, creating some of the most memorable and iconic images of celebrities, including Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson and Christy Turlington.

photo by Patrick Demarchelier

What I find most interesting and distinctive about Patrick Demarchelier’s style is that it has a simple and classic feel across its wide range. There’s certainly a vintage feel to much of his photography. Many of Demarchelier’s images are  in black and white and his portraits sometimes resemble Hollywood shots of famous actresses of the 1930’s and 40’s.

photo by Patrick Demarchelier

Yet, somehow, his style isn’t at all retro. In fact, it feels very fresh and contemporary. Stripped down to the basics of form, elegant fashions that reflect an impeccable taste and poses that capture expression more than dramatic movement, Demarchelier’s photographs appear timeless.  

photo by Patrick Demarchelier

This is the case whether a given picture resembles in some respects vintage photographs or whether it features futuristic fashions.  A striking simplicity of content and form defines the sophisticated, classic style of Patrick Demarchelier.

photo by Patrick Demarchelier

Claudia Moscovici, postromanticism.com

http://www.amazon.com/Romanticism-Postromanticism-Claudia-Moscovici/dp/0739116754

The (Poe)tic Photography of Ekaterina Belinskaya: Fairy Tales in Image Form

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art, art criticism, art history, artistic photography, Claudia Moscovici, contemporary art, contemporary photography, Edgar Allan Poe The Raven, Ekaterina Belinskaya, Ekaterina Belinskaya photography, fashion photography, fine art, fineartebooks, fineartebooks.com, history of art, photography, photography Ekaterina Belinskaya, postromantic movement, postromanticism, postromanticism.com, Romanticism and Postromanticism, Surrealist photography, The (Poe)tic Photography of Ekaterina Belinskaya, The (Poe)tic Photography of Ekaterina Belinskaya: Fairy Tales in Image Form, the photography of Ekaterina Belinskaya, The Raven, women in art

photo by Ekaterina Belinskaya

Ekaterina Belinskaya’s international success offers a pretty good argument that innate talent can sometimes be more important than experience. At the young age of 24, this Moscow-based artist is already one of the foremost fashion and artistic photographers in the world. In 2012, Belinskaya won the Best Photographer Award 2011 (first place in Advertising Photography Awards).

photo by Ekaterina Belinskaya

Originally trained as an ecologist, she was nevertheless drawn to the arts, particularly photography. Legendary photographers such as Tim Walker and Helmut Newton have inspired her, but her style is her own. Each image she creates begins to tell a story, often staged as a fairy tale, that the viewers continue in their own imaginations. As is the case with most fairy tales, there’s both beauty and danger in her photos.

photo by Ekaterina Belinskaya

Belinskaya’s images usually feature strickingly beautiful women, in period costumes often reminiscent of the Gothic era, yet so tastefully staged and designed that they suggest a timeless elegance. As is apparent in the Raven series, the symbols of danger create the tension and the drama in the image. The beautiful woman is not depicted, however, in a stereotypical fashion as a victim that needs to be saved by a courageous prince. She’s a complex and dual creature: feminine, beautiful and strong, yet containing within herself the danger and lure of the bird of prey beside her.

photo by Ekaterina Belinskaya

The Raven series alludes to Edgar Allan Poe’s famous narrative poem by the same name, which was first published in 1845. More intricate and complex than a fairy tale–as is, in fact, Ekaterina Belinskaya’s photography itself–this symbolist poem traces a man’s gradual fall into madness as he converses with a raven about the loss of his lover, Leonore. Rather than consoling him, the bird of prey incites his despondency in various ways, including by repeating the word “Nevermore,” to reinforce the idea that he’s separated forever from the woman he loves.

photo by Ekaterina Belinskaya

While Belinskaya’s (poe)tic photography is even more open-ended in possible interpretations than Poe’s poem, it evokes similar feelings: the darkness of danger embodied by the bird of prey and the stark, somber surroundings; an atmosphere that combines great beauty and implicit menace, which is subtle and rich enough that it can’t be stereotyped as “Gothic” or any other genre, for that matter.

Each of Belinskaya’s series of images tantalizes not only the senses but also the imagination. I believe that, like the artists who inspired her, this young photographer will be a legend in her field.  You can view more of Ekaterina Belinskaya’s art on her website, below:

http://www.ekaterinabelinskaya.com/

Claudia Moscovici, postromanticism.com

http://www.amazon.com/Romanticism-Postromanticism-Claudia-Moscovici/dp/0739116754

The Surprising and Stunning Photography of Andrey Yakovlev and Lili Aleeva

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Andrey Yakovlev and Lili Aleeva

The French writer Francoise Sagan once said “Art must take reality by surprise.” I think that applies especially to the art of photography. Photography today shares with architecture a double function: it must be both pragmatic and sublime. Buildings combine form and function. They must stand no matter how artistic and innovative they may be from an architectural point of view. Likewise, the best fashion photography of our times is innovative, surprising and stunning and at the same time very practical and flexible. It conforms to the advertising needs of each client while also staging a new invention and offering a novel surprise in each photo shoot.

Andrey Yakovlev and Lili Aleeva

Few combine the pragmatic and creative functions of photography as well as Moscow-based photographer Andrey Yakovlev and art director Lili Aleeva. World-famous for the gorgeous models, elegant fashions, inventive sets, and above all creative photo series that never fail to surprise and impress viewers, Yakovlev and Aleeva raise the bar for contemporary artistic photography.

Andrey Yakovlev and Lili Aleeva

Some of their photo series deliberately mimic the diverse styles of classical, realist, romantic, art nouveau and modernist paintings. We see echoes of Ingres, of the pre-Raphaelites, of Bougureau, of Klimt and even of Picasso’s blue period in some of their images.

Andrey Yakovlev and Lili Aleeva

In other series, they set a subversive tone, pushing the limits of our imagination. In yet others, they emphasize feminine beauty and glamour. In most of their photo series, Yakovlev and Aleeva stage a set and create a drama, through the postures, gestures and facial expressions of the models.

Andrey Yakovlev and Lili Aleeva

These expressions surprise us rather than simply imitating life in a repertoire that we’re already familiar with. The poses are not realistic; they’re dramatic and statuesque.

Andrey Yakovlev and Lili Aleeva

These images take our breath away through their stunning beauty and capture our attention through an undefinable element of surprise that characterizes the best artistic creations. You can view more of Yakovlev’s and Aleeva’s beautiful photography on the websites below:

http://www.behance.net/AndrewLili

 

http://www.photodom.com/photo/2268874

Andrey Yakovlev and Lili Aleeva

Claudia Moscovici, postromanticism.com

http://www.amazon.com/Romanticism-Postromanticism-Claudia-Moscovici/dp/0739116754

The Statuesque Images of Herb Ritts

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Herb Ritts

The L. A. based photographer Herbert (Herb) Ritts (1952-2002) bridged the gap between artistic photography and commercial fashion shoots. His work shows that photography can be highly commercial without losing its originality, signature style and aesthetic value.

Herb Ritts

Ritts is known around the world for his iconic black and white portraits of celebrities–including Brooke Shields,  Diana Ross, Britney Spears, Madonna, Julia Roberts, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Nicole Kidman. His photographs are simple, elegant and statuesque, in poses that transcend our fashions and times and deliberately imitate the style of classical Greek and Roman statues.

Herb Ritts

In the course of his long and successful career, Ritts has photographed for some of the most prestigious fashion magazines, such as Esquire, Mademoiselle, Glamour, GQ, Vogue and Elle. The elegance, simplicity, starkness (his images are usually black and white) and timeless, statuesque poses of his fashion shoots and portraits make them stand out as works of art.

Herb Ritts

Ritts has also directed music videos, including Madonna’s “Cherish” and Michael Jackson’s “In the Closet”. He passed away in 2002, at the age of 50, due to complications from pneumonia. In the fall of 2012, the  Getty Museum commemorated Ritt’s beautiful artistic legacy with an exhibit of his photography called “L.A. Style”. You can see more of his fashion photography and famous portraits on his website below: 

http://www.herbritts.com/

my teenage heartthrob, Corey Hart, photographed by Herb Ritts

Claudia Moscovici, postromanticism.com

http://www.amazon.com/Romanticism-Postromanticism-Claudia-Moscovici/dp/0739116754

The Incomparable Jeanloup Sieff: Sensuality and Elegance

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Alfred Hitchcok, art, art blog, art criticism, artistic photography, Claudia Moscovici, Elia Iglesias, fashion photography, fine art, fineartebooks, fineartebooks.com, Jane Birkin, Je t'aime moi nonplus, Jeanloup Sieff images, Jeanloup Sieff photography, Jeanloup Sieff's images, Jeanloup Sieff's photography, photographer Jeanloup Sieff, photography, Photography Jeanloup Sieff, postromantic art, postromantic images, postromantic movement, postromantic photographers, postromantic photography, postromanticism, postromanticism.com, Romanticism and Postromanticism, sensual art, sensual images, sensuality, Sieff, Sieff images, Sieff photographs, the incomparable Jeanloup Sieff, The Incomparable Jeanloup Sieff: Sensuality and Elegance

The photography of Jeanloup Sieff  epitomizes class, sensuality and elegance. Born in Paris of parents of Polish origin, Sieff’s interest in photography began very early, at the age of 14, when he received a camera as a birthday gift. He quickly developed a knack for photographing women, which would continue to be a favorite subject. Sieff  studied at the Vaugirard School of Photography in Paris and the Vevey School in Switzerland. In 1956, he started shooting fashion photography, developing a signature style in capturing women’s beauty with classic elegance . His black and white images, where shadows seem to emphasize rather than hide fluid curves, offer voyeuristic peeks into women’s sensuality  as well as dramatic hints of their personalities.

Very popular with the American market, Sieff moved to New York during the 1960’s, where he worked for the top fashion magazines, including Esquire, Glamour and Vogue. He’s best known, however, for his captivating images of celebrities, including Jane Birkin, Alfred Hitchcock and Yves Montand. In the video that features his photography and the song Je t’aime moi nonplus, performed in a sizzling duet by Jane Birkin and her lover Serge Gainsbourg, the video artist Elia Iglesias captures Sieff’s intoxicating mixture of eroticisism and elegance.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ClaudiaMoscovici#p/f/2/vB1d-CXVsPY

Sieff won many hearts and several prestigious awards for his images, including the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres in Paris (1981) and the Grand Prix National de la Photographie (1992). He is the blueprint and inspiration for postromantic photographers today, whose works you can view on our website http://postromanticism.com/

Claudia Moscovici, postromanticism.com

http://www.amazon.com/Romanticism-Postromanticism-Claudia-Moscovici/dp/0739116754