Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer who was renown for his sensitive yet blunt treatment towards controversial matters. His work usually consisted of celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-portraits and still-life images of flowers. Mapplethorpe’s still-life photographs are very unique.

I am going to use the work of Robert Mapplethorpe the most for inspiration and attempt to make my own take upon Mapplethorpe’s photographs.

I selected Mapplethorpe as my case study artist because I like the singularity of his photos, for example, he would place a very colourful flower in front of a plain yet powerful black background which would consequently enhance the colours of the flower itself. Mapplethorpe’s single object approach focuses our attention upon the object in question, enabling him to express his ideas clearly and thoroughly.

Rose, 1989

This is my favourite image of Mapplethorpe’s collection. The photograph has taken into account the angle of the flower and got the correct outcome as the flower head coincides perfectly with the rule of thirds scheme as it is exactly central within the image. There are few relevant examples of correct linear in this image as the lines upon the leaf are symmetrical and the stem of the flower is straight, leading into the middle segment of the rule of thirds square. The flower head itself is also very crisp as you can clearly see the definition of each petal and where it curls over, bends or ends. There is evidence of juxtaposition through the difference of colours. The flower has a vibrant pink shade with two varied green shades in the forms of the flowers stem and the flower’s leaves. The sharp colours are contrasted with the completely black background, which draws our attention to the flower itself. The background is a very cold black colour which is the opposite of the charismatic flower as it features very warm colours. The photograph shows shadowing around the petals as some are higher than others, enhancing the detail of the image and improving it over all. Despite the presence of shadows, there isn’t a distinctive light source shown, implying the light provided is artificial. I believe Mapplethorpe would have used the ‘three point lighting’ scheme to develop the precise detail of this image.