The beauty of the human form

There are currently two exhibits featuring the photography of Robert Mapplethorpe in Paris, one at the Grand Palais, and the other at the Rodin Museum.  In our opinion, the one at the Rodin Museum is the most successful.

I frankly find some of Mapplethorpe's work pornographic. The Grand Palais limited the viewing of his most daring images to adults. However, I don't have to like all of an artist's work to recognize talent, and sometimes the questions raised by an artist make us re-evaluate how we think about beauty, and that's not a bad thing. 

Mapplethorpe died of AIDS  in 1989. He was 42.  Seeing the exhibits makes me wonder what he would have done had he lived longer, although he certainly lived long enough to secure his legacy.

Both Kevin and I found the exhibit at the Rodin Museum worthwhile, for the pairing of Mapplethorpe's photographs with Rodin's sculpture results in a new and exciting combination. It would be hard to imagine someone who could see these works and fail to appreciate the sheer beauty of the human form.

In the exhibit.

We had a quiet picnic in the  far corner of the garden.

Note: Yes, I seem to be wearing the same jacket all the time.  But until recently it was cool in Paris, and I did pack light.