Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) is undoubtedly one of the most important photographers of the twentieth century. He was inspired by the sculpture of classical antiquity and the Renaissance, and translated this aesthetic to a time and culture of his own, namely New York’s gay scene in the 1980s. The resulting images portray the beautifully lit unadorned bodies of muscular men. Moreover, Mapplethorpe depicted female nudes, various flowers, in addition to portraits of his friends and acquaintances such as Patti Smith, Louise Bourgeois, and Robert Rauschenberg. Regardless of motif Mapplethorpe’s photographs continuously reflected the same formalist aesthetic for which he is known. Fotografiska is proud to present a retrospective of nearly 200 of these stunning prints, many which have never been exhibited in Sweden before.