Irises
1987
Medium
photogravure
Measurements
87.0 × 81.9 cm (image) 114.0 × 97.3 cm (sheet)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Krystyna Campbell-Pretty AM and Family through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program, 2025
© Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used by permission
Gallery location
Level 3, NGV International
About this work
Robert Mapplethorpe is considered a pioneer of contemporary photography. His black-and-white imagery explores, in his words, ‘perfection in form’. From celebrity portraits to homoerotic bodies and flower studies, Mapplethorpe sought to find balance and symmetry within his compositions. This print was created using photogravure, a nineteenth-century photographic process that enjoyed a revival in the 1980s. To produce it, Mapplethorpe collaborated with Graphicstudio in the College of the Arts at the University of South Florida.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Tampa, Florida, United States
Edition
artist's proof
Inscription
insribed in pencil l.l.: AP
inscribed in pencil l.r.: Robert Mapplethorpe ‘87
chopmark l.r.: (sunburst)
Accession Number
2025.522
Department
International Photography