Photographer Mario Testino Shows Two Sides at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Photographer Mario Testino Shows Two Sides at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Even those who don’t recognize Mario Testino’s name have definitely laid eyes on one of his photographs — presumably the wholesome 2010 engagement pictures of Kate Middleton and Prince William, or Madonna’s glistening aqua portrait for her 1998 album “Ray of Light,” or one of his countless magazine covers for Vanity Fair, Vogue, and V — over the past few decades. Yesterday, the photographer’s first stateside museum exhibition opened at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Following his blockbuster 2002 exhibition “Mario Testino: Portraits” at the National Portrait Gallery in London, the two-in-one show is composed of “Mario Testino: In Your Face,” a selection of his glamorous images of supermodels and celebrities on display through February 3, and the more subdued collection of photographs, “Mario Testino: British Royal Portraits,” which runs until June 16. Interestingly, the Boston show uses the same poster girl as “Mario Testino: Portraits”: Kate Moss, who — according to one estimation by the photographer — has shot been shot by Testino thousands of times.
The Peruvian lensman handpicked his favorite shots of the British Royal Family, which regularly commissions him for official photos (including the engagement photos of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge mentioned above), for “British Royal Portraits.” Testino’s Vanity Fair portraits from Princess Diana’s last official sitting before her 1997 death are also in the show, as well as an impromptu 1981 black-and-white shot of the late Queen Mother and Prince Edward as they passed the crowds in the streets of London on Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding day. “I have always been inspired by their sense of tradition and duty,” said the photographer of the British Royals in a release.
In sharp contrast to the royal portraits, the star-studded “In Your Face” focuses on the sexed-up brashness of Testino’s celebrity portraiture and his provocative fashion editorials. One hundred and twenty-two images are on view. In one, a ferocious Tom Brady growls alongside a howling canine, and in another, Brady’s wife, Giselle Bündchen, who Testino made famous, epitomizes the photographer’s flair in a sparkly silver mini dress and lavender fur stole as she steps out of a limo. Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez, and Madonna are also among the famous names in the show.
With fashion, celebrity, and the British Royal Family, all the elements of a blockbuster show are in place at this double Testino affair in Boston. Now it’s up to crowds to show up.
Click on the slideshow to see images from “Mario Testino: In Your Face” and “Mario Testino: British Royal Portraits,” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
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