Robert Mapplethorpe's Minimalism

IC: Robert Mapplethorpe, Calla Lilies, 1983 © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used by permission.

 

During the 1970s, Robert Mapplethorpe became famous for his portraits of artists, socialites, and members of the S&M community. In the 1980s, his work focused on classical formal beauty, concentrating on male and female nudes, flowers, still lifes, and formal portraits.

 

Perhaps one of the most famous and controversial artists to emerge from the late 1970s and 1980s, it is nearly impossible to overestimate the impact of Robert Mapplethorpe's work, both artistically and socially.