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VOGUE 1999: NICOLE KIDMAN
his magazine editorial was photographed by Steven Meisel and pays homage to John Singer Sargent, an artist from the 1800s. It includes Nicole Kidman who is posing as Lady Agnew which was painting by Sargent in 1893. Kidman is poised in an identical style to the original painting but has been styled in richer fabrics such as ochre which be a way of injecting Kidman’s own personality into the shoot. Sargent was famous for ‘capturing conscious realism and his attention not to only detail, but the characters of his sitters’ (Zuzanna Stanska, Daily Art magazine). This may have inspired Meisel to ‘capture some of Nicole Kidman’s personality’ into the editorial (Zuzanna Stanska, Daily Art magazine).
‘Meisel has a prodigious talent for scripting story lines that reference and reflect culture’ (Fotobodega). His consistency with positively capturing culture within his photography may have influenced why he was chosen for this editorial. Whilst adapting it to a more modern audience and adding personality he has enhanced key aspects from the original painting. Examples of this are the long necklace that sits between the females chest and the floral pattern of the background that symbolises wealth, fortune and prosperity.
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