DescriptionMario Testino has not only created iconic portraits of society's most well known figures, but has been a driving force in the creation of the cult of celebrity.
Historically, this dual role was similarly carried out by Joshua Reynolds, and like Reynolds before him, Testino acts from a position of being as much a part of the social world he photographs as being its portraitist.
Kate Moss continues to be one of Testino's most frequent and favoured models, in part for her ability to convey something particularly English and for her unaffected beauty.
His portrait 'Kate in Blue Cafe' (2005) is typical of Testino's trademark style, being at once both disarmingly nonchalant yet highly posed.
This edition has been published to coincide with the exhibition 'Joshua Reynolds: The Creation of Celebrity' (26 May - 18 September, 2005, Tate Britain).
(C-type photograph on Fuji Crystal Archive paper, printed by Golden Shot, London).
Signed and numbered on front.
