Michael Joseph (1941-) - Cupid & Feathers - pretty blonde model & statue
04
days
11
hours
30
minutes
45
seconds
Current bid
€ 5
No reserve price
Expert
Selected by Kai Brückner
Over 35 years' experience; former gallery owner and Museum Folkwang curator.
Estimate € 500 - € 600
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Description from the seller
Untitled (Feathers & Cupid)
Original Darkroom Photograph by Michael Joseph
Photograph taken in the 1970s
A ravishing and theatrical original darkroom photograph in which Michael Joseph conjures a dreamlike tableau of sensuality, myth, and playful subversion. A nude female figure, adorned in drifting clouds of feathers, stands poised and assured beside a classical plinth, accompanied by a sculptural cupid whose presence blurs the boundary between living body and allegory. The scene floats between fantasy, fashion, and fine art—timeless, erotic, and knowingly surreal.
Joseph’s command of composition is unmistakable. The figure’s stance is statuesque and self-possessed, her gaze lifted, unselfconscious and sovereign. Feathers arc and scatter through the frame like fallen wings, softening the space while heightening its theatrical suspension. The cupid—part ornament, part accomplice—introduces a note of wit and mischief, transforming the image into a playful meditation on desire, artifice, and classical beauty reimagined through a distinctly modern lens.
Printed as an original darkroom photograph, the work possesses luminous tonal delicacy and a tactile surface presence. Subtle gradations of light sculpt flesh and feather alike, while the pale ground creates an almost celestial stage. This is Joseph at his most painterly: drawing freely on art-historical reference while remaining instinctive, bold, and deeply photographic.
While widely recognised for his iconic work with The Rolling Stones during the Beggars Banquet era, Joseph’s broader archive reveals a fearless visual imagination—one that moves fluidly between portraiture, performance, and fantasy. Untitled (Feathers & Cupid) stands as a rare and compelling expression of that experimental spirit.
Original vintage darkroom print.
Mounted and framed; overall size 71 cm high × 55 cm wide.
Condition: Very good vintage condition, with light, age-appropriate characteristics consistent with original darkroom practice.
An image that feels at once classical and provocative—a feather-light provocation with serious presence. Rare, seductive, and unmistakably analogue.
This is a one-off historical print. It will be carefully packed with devotion and respect for its originality, and dispatched securely. Each work released from our family archive is offered as a singular piece of photographic history, preserved and shared with great care.
#mythandmodernity
#analogueallure
#theatricalphotography
#featheredflesh
#classicalreimagined
#darkroomprint
#eroticfantasy
#artificeanddesire
#surrealtableau
#vintagephotography
#mythicfeminine
#oneoffprint
Seller's Story
My father, Michael Joseph, was a London-based advertising photographer from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s. Over those decades, he produced an extraordinary body of work—his most widely recognised image being the iconic Beggars Banquet gatefold for the Rolling Stones.
My ongoing mission is to share and celebrate what we call “the other photos”: the lesser-known but no less compelling images from his archive. These are the works that lived beyond the headlines—test prints, alternative frames from major shoots, and quieter, more personal photographs, all made with his characteristic intensity, discipline, and devotion to craft.
Much of their atmosphere comes from the darkroom itself. These are photographs shaped by light, timing, and handwork: intricate group compositions, sculptural still lifes, and moments that invite the viewer to linger and look again. Variety is central to the archive, and I frequently offer unique, one-off pieces that exist nowhere else.
I hope you enjoy discovering my father’s work as much as I enjoy sharing it, and that you find here not just an image, but a genuine piece of photographic history.
All works are dispatched carefully protected, and packed with devotion and care, appropriate to a one-off historical photographic print.
US purchasers please note: Customs and excise charges are paid at source and included in the postage fee. No further charges should be due on delivery, unless regulations change.
Untitled (Feathers & Cupid)
Original Darkroom Photograph by Michael Joseph
Photograph taken in the 1970s
A ravishing and theatrical original darkroom photograph in which Michael Joseph conjures a dreamlike tableau of sensuality, myth, and playful subversion. A nude female figure, adorned in drifting clouds of feathers, stands poised and assured beside a classical plinth, accompanied by a sculptural cupid whose presence blurs the boundary between living body and allegory. The scene floats between fantasy, fashion, and fine art—timeless, erotic, and knowingly surreal.
Joseph’s command of composition is unmistakable. The figure’s stance is statuesque and self-possessed, her gaze lifted, unselfconscious and sovereign. Feathers arc and scatter through the frame like fallen wings, softening the space while heightening its theatrical suspension. The cupid—part ornament, part accomplice—introduces a note of wit and mischief, transforming the image into a playful meditation on desire, artifice, and classical beauty reimagined through a distinctly modern lens.
Printed as an original darkroom photograph, the work possesses luminous tonal delicacy and a tactile surface presence. Subtle gradations of light sculpt flesh and feather alike, while the pale ground creates an almost celestial stage. This is Joseph at his most painterly: drawing freely on art-historical reference while remaining instinctive, bold, and deeply photographic.
While widely recognised for his iconic work with The Rolling Stones during the Beggars Banquet era, Joseph’s broader archive reveals a fearless visual imagination—one that moves fluidly between portraiture, performance, and fantasy. Untitled (Feathers & Cupid) stands as a rare and compelling expression of that experimental spirit.
Original vintage darkroom print.
Mounted and framed; overall size 71 cm high × 55 cm wide.
Condition: Very good vintage condition, with light, age-appropriate characteristics consistent with original darkroom practice.
An image that feels at once classical and provocative—a feather-light provocation with serious presence. Rare, seductive, and unmistakably analogue.
This is a one-off historical print. It will be carefully packed with devotion and respect for its originality, and dispatched securely. Each work released from our family archive is offered as a singular piece of photographic history, preserved and shared with great care.
#mythandmodernity
#analogueallure
#theatricalphotography
#featheredflesh
#classicalreimagined
#darkroomprint
#eroticfantasy
#artificeanddesire
#surrealtableau
#vintagephotography
#mythicfeminine
#oneoffprint
Seller's Story
My father, Michael Joseph, was a London-based advertising photographer from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s. Over those decades, he produced an extraordinary body of work—his most widely recognised image being the iconic Beggars Banquet gatefold for the Rolling Stones.
My ongoing mission is to share and celebrate what we call “the other photos”: the lesser-known but no less compelling images from his archive. These are the works that lived beyond the headlines—test prints, alternative frames from major shoots, and quieter, more personal photographs, all made with his characteristic intensity, discipline, and devotion to craft.
Much of their atmosphere comes from the darkroom itself. These are photographs shaped by light, timing, and handwork: intricate group compositions, sculptural still lifes, and moments that invite the viewer to linger and look again. Variety is central to the archive, and I frequently offer unique, one-off pieces that exist nowhere else.
I hope you enjoy discovering my father’s work as much as I enjoy sharing it, and that you find here not just an image, but a genuine piece of photographic history.
All works are dispatched carefully protected, and packed with devotion and care, appropriate to a one-off historical photographic print.
US purchasers please note: Customs and excise charges are paid at source and included in the postage fee. No further charges should be due on delivery, unless regulations change.
Details
Date of print
1969
Artist
Michael Joseph (1941-)
Sold by
Owner or reseller
Title of artwork
Cupid & Feathers - pretty blonde model & statue
Condition
Original State
Technique
Gelatin-silver print
Height
45 cm
Edition
Unique sepia-toned darkroom print sold with frame as shown
Width
36 cm
Signature
Not signed
Genre
Nude
Sold by
