English Version | Helmut Newton, timeless genius

Helmut Newton's lens changed the way we look at the beauty, sensuality and power of women forever. Loved by some, hated by others, Newton was one of the main figures responsible for redefining fashion photography and today, almost 20 years after his death, he remains a highly respected icon in the industry. If the panorama has changed radically, much is due to him. It was at the end of the 1950s, after moving to Europe, that Newton's career really took off. With a rebellious soul, he challenged the established norms and began to reflect a fusion between fashion and eroticism in his images. His highly witty and daring photography earned him features in magazines such as Playboy and Oui. Later, he began working with other renowned publications, such as the French and British editions of Vogue. At the height of the 70s and 80s, his images were profoundly disruptive - even shocking. In a "pornographic and chic" register, sensuality took on a whole new dimension in his hands, between provocative poses and unusual objects, representing lust in all its splendor, but always with a class, glamour and magnetism that only he knew how to achieve.

Celebrities also became muses of the "King of Kink", as he was nicknamed, and from Twiggy to Monica Belluci, to Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali, Madonna or Angelina Jolie, the photographic genius was responsible for some of the most acclaimed images of all time. How can we forget the iconic photograph of Cindy Crawford with a Dobermann or Elsa Peretti in her bunny costume? With an aesthetic recognizable anywhere in the world, inspired by film noir, expressionist cinema and surrealism, Helmut Newton reshaped the contours of photography, fearlessly removing the taboo of shadows. More than that, he represented the female figure in a way that few photographers - even today - know how to do. Beyond sensual women, beyond muses, beyond models, they were the representation of female power and emancipation, also portraying the social changes of the time. They were women who appreciated fashion, but also indulged in earthly and carnal pleasures; they were undeniably seductive and at the same time maintained an unattainable aura. Newton managed to portray them in an incomparable way, preserving their seduction without ever vulgarizing them. His work transcends the ephemerality of time and is eternalized in the pages of the hundreds of magazines that have immortalized his unique visual narratives.

Helmut Newton's legacy remains intact, as does the admiration for his revolutionary and audacious work. Some of his publications, such as White Women (1976) and Big Nudes (1981), go down in history. His images have been exhibited all over the world and now come to Coruña, Spain, from November 18, 2023 until May 1 next year. Helmut Newton - Fact & Fiction, presented by the Marta Ortega Pérez Foundation, will tell the artist's personal story through a series of videos showing intimate conversations, or even moments from his childhood and beyond, with his wife and actress June Brunell. The curation of these photographs has an admittedly daring vision and includes his iconic Big Nudes and memorable portraits of a series of personalities such as David Bowie, Margaret Thatcher, Naomi Campbell, Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld. Opposite these images will also be highly atmospheric landscapes of places that resonated with the photographer, from Paris to Los Angeles, Monte Carlo to Berlin, Vienna to Las Vegas. An unmissable exhibition curated by Philippe Garner, Matthias Harder, and Tim Jefferies.

Translated from the original on The Fame Issue, published October 2023. Full credits and stories in the print issue.