Artist
ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE (1946–1989)

Title
GRAPES

Medium
Gelatin silver print, mounted on board

Signature
Signed lower right on the recto; stamped on the verso

Dimensions
Photograph: 14 15/16 × 15 3/16 in. (37.9 × 38.5 cm)
Framed: 25 × 30 in. (63.5 × 76.2 cm)

Description
Robert Mapplethorpe (1946–1989) was an American photographer best known for his highly refined black-and-white photographs. His diverse body of work encompassed celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-portraits, and still-life compositions. Through his precise compositions, controlled lighting, and formal rigor, Mapplethorpe transformed a wide range of subjects into carefully constructed studies of form, beauty, and visual harmony.

Mapplethorpe emerged as an important figure in the New York art scene of the 1970s and 1980s. His work explored the boundaries between fine art, portraiture, sexuality, and popular culture, while his distinctive aesthetic emphasized symmetry, sculptural form, texture, and the expressive potential of the photographic medium.

Still-life photography occupied an important place within Mapplethorpe’s artistic practice. He approached everyday objects and natural forms with the same formal discipline and precision that characterized his portraits and studies of the human body. Through controlled lighting, carefully considered composition, and an emphasis on texture and volume, he transformed ordinary subjects into refined visual studies.

The present work, Grapes, exemplifies Mapplethorpe’s distinctive approach to still-life photography. Through precise framing, dramatic lighting, and subtle tonal gradation, the clustered grapes are presented as sculptural forms, emphasizing their organic shapes, texture, volume, and rhythmic arrangement.

Grapes reflects Mapplethorpe’s enduring fascination with beauty, form, and the transformation of everyday subjects through photography. By isolating the grapes within a carefully controlled composition, the work elevates a familiar natural form into an image of exceptional formal clarity and visual sophistication, demonstrating his distinctive contribution to modern photographic still life.

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