Horst P. Horst - Mainbocher Corset, 1939

Horst P. Horst, Mainbocher Corset, 1939.

'Copyright 2006 Horst P. Horst / Art+Commerce' in the upper left corner of the image. Artist's dry stamp in the lower right corner of the image. Total dimensions: 41,5 x 31,5 cm on semi-gloss paper. Fine condition. Printed Lated, 2000's.

Few photographs in history have reached the mythic status of Mainbocher Corset (1939). Horst P. Horst —a master of light, psychology, and theatrical precision— crafted here one of the most sensual and enigmatic compositions of the 20th century. The model, seen from behind as she tightens her corset, becomes a living sculpture, shaped by immaculate shadow play and by Horst’s near-alchemical technical control.

The cultural impact of this image is lasting: Madonna famously paid tribute to it in her Vogue music video, reaffirming its place as an icon where fashion, art, desire and modernity converge.

Horst was one of the defining visual architects of the century. He portrayed artists, writers, film stars, aristocrats, presidents and leading cultural figures, developing for Vogue an unmistakable aesthetic where elegance, geometry and controlled sensuality intersect. The 1980s saw a major revival of his work among collectors, critics and museums.

Regarded as one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century, Horst’s legacy sits alongside that of Man Ray, Edward Steichen, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Cecil Beaton, Diane Arbus, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ansel Adams, Robert Capa, Werner Bischof, Elliott Erwitt, W. Eugene Smith, Robert Doisneau, Eve Arnold, Philippe Halsman, Horacio Coppola, William Klein, Peter Lindbergh and Herb Ritts, among many others.

An essential piece for collectors of fashion photography, portraiture and modern visual culture —a choreographed instant that endures as one of the most elegant and revolutionary images ever made.