DAY 133

FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPHERS

Patrick Demarchelier (1943–)

NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT

Since the late 1970s, French fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier has built a career out of capturing hundreds of sensual, revealing photographs of some of the most beautiful women in the world, from top models such as Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell to world-famous entertainers like Madonna. His work has graced the pages of scores of fashion magazines and used in advertising campaigns for an illustrious lineup of international designers.

However, Demarchelier made photographic history when he became the first non-British, official photographer of the Royal Family, after his photographs of Princess Diana appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, which lead her to request him as her personal photographer. The photos show a side of Diana that had not been previously revealed; her usual public façade is replaced by a woman who is relaxed and laughing but with a hint of sadness.

Demarchelier is known for his ability to put his models at ease, making them forget the camera, then capturing them during moments that reveal their true natures. An almost-nude, yet very relaxed, image of Janet Jackson with a man cupping her breasts from behind is a perfect example of the success of his methodology. Anthony Hopkins, Tom Cruise, Bill Clinton, and Robert De Niro have all been subjects of this same method of scrutiny.

In 2007, he was honored by the French Minister of Culture as an Officier dans l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the most prestigious French award for an artist.¹ —GC