“I like taking pictures, because I like life. And I especially like photographing people, because I love humanity above all». Horst P. Horst, born in Germany in 1903 as Paul Albert Bohrmann, arrived in New York in the 1940s and decided to change his surname: his was the same as that of a senior Nazi official and as a German citizen and homosexual, he wanted to cancel any connection to Hitler’s oppressive regime. His career took off in the 1930s, the meeting with the photographer George Hoyningen-Huene who would later become his partner was fundamental. The first cover of Vogue dates back to 1935, revolutionary: from this date hand-drawn illustrations enter full-fledged fashion magazines. Esteemed by the world of the fashion system, a source of inspiration for other artists and more: in 1990 Madonna pays homage to him in the Vogue video.
In his long career, Horst has portrayed personalities of international high society such as Emilio Pucci, Valentino Garavani, Salvador Dalì, Marlene Dietrich and Diane von Furstenberg. Glamorous shots, many of which, together with unpublished vintage prints, fashion photographs and still lifes, are on display until April 16 in the exhibition Essence of the Times at the SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film. Mesmerizing images that trace the entire career of one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century, Horst who was able to embrace surrealism as well as the principles of classicism without ever giving up experimentation.
There is no shortage of shots on display Mainbocher Corset, last photograph that Horst took in Paris before taking refuge in New York: «We all felt that the war was coming. Too many armaments, too much talk. You knew that whatever happened, the life after would be completely different »he says. Few fashion photographs in history have been so full of meaning: the model’s arms that seem broken, the movement of the head that can be interpreted as surrender, a composed resignation of a world engulfed in violence. The August 1939 photograph heralds a man’s fear and uncertainty. In fact, a few days later, from this shot, and more precisely on 1 September, Europe would be devastated by the Second World War.
Source: Vanity Fair
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