Portraits by Hiroshi Sugimoto

E S S A Y

B Y

M A R I A

D E S I G N E D

H I R O S H I

B Y

M O R R I S

T A K A A K I

H A M B O U R G

M A T S U M O T O

S U G I M O T O :

P U B L I S H E D

B Y

D A M I A N I

A N D

M W

P O R T R A I T S

E D I T I O N S

W I L L I A M

S H A K E S P E A R E ,

1 9 9 9

R E M B R A N D T

V A N

R I J N ,

1 9 9 9

O S C A R

W I L D E ,

1 9 9 9

P I E T

M O N D R I A N ,

1 9 9 9

S A L V A D O R

D A L Í ,

1 9 9 9

D A R C E Y

B U S S E L L ,

1 9 9 9

B U S T E R

K E A T O N ,

1 9 9 4

N O R M A

S H E A R E R ,

1 9 9 4

M A E

W E S T ,

1 9 9 4

V A L E N T I N O ,

1 9 9 4

J E A N

H A R L O W ,

1 9 9 4

E L I Z A B E T H

T A Y L O R ,

1 9 9 4

R O B E R T

S T A C K ,

1 9 9 4

S O P H I A

L O R E N ,

1 9 9 4

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook

Portraits by Hiroshi Sugimoto

Published on Mar 21, 2018

Damiani

At first glance, Hiroshi Sugimoto’s photographic portrait of King Henry VIII of England is arresting: his camera has captured the tactility of Henry’s luxurious furs and silks, the elaborate embroidery of his doublet, and the light reflecting off of each shimmering jewel. The contours of the king’s face are so lifelike that he appears to be almost threedimensional. It seems as though the twenty-first century artist has traveled back in time nearly five hundred years to photograph his royal subject. While Sugimoto’s portraits of historical figures appear to capture a lived moment in time, they are fictions. These portraits are in fact at least twice removed from the subject: his photograph captures a wax figure that has been created by a sculptor from either a photographic portrait or a painted one. The portraits of wax figures, which in this volume are presented alongside a handful of portraits of living subjects and memento mori, call into question what it is the portrait captures.

Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.