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Marilyn Monroe. A cult figure.
Marilyn Monroe is a 20th-century icon of enduring fascination. She owed her image of coquettish blonde seductress above all to Hollywood, acting in 32 films and eventually becoming one of the most famous faces in the world. In contrast to Marlene Dietrich or Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe embodied not so much the goddess as the idol, corresponding more to the consumerist attitudes of the 1950s. She became a true icon only after her death, a status due above all to the famous silk-screen images of Andy Warhol and the superb photographs of Bert Stern.
The Imperial Furniture Collection is mounting an exhibition devoted to the unforgettable diva with photographs by the famous fashion photographer Bert Stern. These photographs were taken in 1962 during the legendary three-day shoot known as 'The Last Sitting' and testify to Bert Stern's status as a leading figure in the 1960s Pop Art world.
The Last Sitting. 1962.
In June 1962 Bert Stern flew to Los Angeles, having been commissioned by Vogue to do a fashion shoot with Marilyn Monroe. No one dreamed that this would be her 'last sitting'. Only six weeks later Marilyn Monroe was dead. Bert Stern succeeded in capturing the star's natural body language, her acting talent and unsuspected elegance. At the same time, the photographs also open up an almost imperceptible perspective exposing the fragility of the illusion.
Stern does not portray her as an 'object of desire'; he gives her and her body the right to self-assertion. The Marilyn of these photographs has nothing in common with the 'dumb blonde' of her films. Despite the perfect make-up, marcelled hair and couture gowns, it is Norma Jean Baker who comes to the fore here, the woman behind the icon revealing obvious enjoyment in her self-determined pose. It is this combination of image and individuality that finally constitutes the enduring quality and uniqueness of this series of photographs.
Bert Stern. The photographer.
Bert Stern, born in New York in 1929, was one of the greatest stars in the world of 1960s photography. His breakthrough came with one of the most famous advertising campaigns in history, the legendary Smirnoff campaign. A glass, a bottle of Smirnoff, blue desert sand, a yellow lemon, a man, a chair and a cloud. This brilliant pictorial composition won him a place among the top ten commercial photographers of 1953.
The Last Sitting with Marilyn Monroe represented another milestone in his career. The photographs and silk-screen prints shown in this exhibition are not instrumentalised images that correspond to familiar expectations or the collective reproduction of our feelings. They are moving, partly very unusual pictures of the great diva that show the idol in a variety of different aspects.