Signed; Bettina Rheims - Rétrospective - 2004

Very rare signed copy by Bettina Rheims (born in 1952). 200 pages and 133 photographs—in black and white and predominantly in color—printed full-page with captions at the end of the book; texts in French and English by Serge Bramly and Jean-Christophe Ammann. Illustrated softcover. In excellent condition. Protected shipping with postal tracking.

Bettina Rheims’s work focuses on portraiture, the representation of the body, and the question of gender. She appropriated the conventions of nude photography to subvert them, placing the question of femininity at the heart of her practice; Bettina Rheims captures androgynous poses and explores sexual identity and—beyond mere femininity—the broader concept of gender, challenging society’s definitions of the masculine and the feminine long before the topic gained widespread public attention. She also garnered early acclaim in the 1980s for her extraordinary portraits of women and nude studies. Her subjects—ranging from actresses, artists, and models to friends, acrobats, and fairground strippers, as well as both famous and unknown women—have included Catherine Deneuve, Matilda May, Charlotte Rampling, Fanny Ardant, Anouk Aimée, Sophie Marceau, Lio, and many others.