Customer Reviews

Scavullo: Photographs 50 Years

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Francesco Scavullo has a gift, there's no question about that. His pictures are so full of life it's hard to believe they are frozen on paper. He also offers candid insights into some of his subjects which only add to the photo's charm. This book has something in it for everyone. It's a purchase you won't regret making if you have even the most remote interest in photography.

I collect and read photography books. This one I got as a Christmas present, and it's super. Whether you're into celebrities or just great photography, this book covers it all. I also like his reasoning and history behind some of the people he photographed. A great book to have in any collection.

If you like photographs of celebrities that express their personalities in loving ways, this volume is a must for you!

This volume contains a few nude and topless female photographs that are artfully and tastefully done.

Francesco Scavullo created the images that most of us carry around with us that "define" the celebrities that have made an impression on us. These images are greatly enhanced in this volume by brief captions in which Mr. Scavullo shares his verbal perspective on the model. For example, about Diana Vreeland, he says, "Allure personified." His way with words is as good as his way with the camera. Louise Nevelson (one of the subjects of this volume) called his work "the poetic essence of his subject." In doing this, he "filters out visual cliches." In fact, he changed the images of many of his subjects (do you remember the glamor portrait of Martha Mitchell on the cover of New York Magazine?). He has been fascinated that "you could make people attractive."

Mr. Scavullo has an obvious love for people that carries from one thoughtful portrait to the next. He captures a liveliness that most people only feel a few times a year, yet that spark exists in almost all of these images. It's enough to get you to jump up out of your seat and kick your heels in the air!

The book's essay is also candid about Mr. Scavullo's experiences with manic depression, and his joy in doing his photography while in the manic state. Many of his downs are described as "nervous breakdowns" and certainly give a greater poignancy to these bouyant views.

There is also a brief chronology of his career that will put events in perspective for you.

The book is a blockbuster of outstanding images. I could have listed dozens as my favorites from these great black and white and color photographs. Here are a few selections to whet your appetite for the real thing:

Sophia Loren, 1973

Catherine Deneueve, 1970 (1st one)

Elizabeth Taylor, 1977

Oprah Winfrey, 1994

Maria Shriver, 1986

Louise Nevelson, 1981

Christopher Reeve, 1977

Dick Cavett, 1978

Salvador Dali, 1973

Gore Vidal, 1975

Andy Warhol, 1983

Samantha Jones, 1969

Iman, 1989

Lauren Hutton, 1975, 1973

Rene Russo, 1974 (2nd image)

Ingemore, 1968

Maria Badeau, 1970

Brooke Shields, 1983, 1991

Pauline Trigere, 1977

Linda Evangelista, 1990

Claudia Schiffer, 1989

Elizabeth Hurley, 1995

Julie Andrews, 1994

Bee Gees, 1977

Gene Simmons, 1979

Isabella Rossellini, 1986

What thought does it take for you to come alive as these people do? Notice that they seem younger, less guarded, and more confident and comfortable. That makes them more appealing.

Be your most attractive to inspire you . . . and everyone else!

I'll admit I wasn't alive when Scavullo was in his heyday, so flipping through this book, some of the photographs seem a little dated. The hair, the make up, the clothes! These photographs, in their color and composition, don't match the timeless quality that other big names in photography do. In other words, the photographs often do not transcend the fashion, or the era. That said, this book sums up Scavullo's work very well. He was part of an era, and his photographs are a portal to all the fabulous personalities and supermodels of the 60's, 70's, and 80's. He had real talent.

There is one photograph of Christopher Reeve that is absolutely haunting. He's shirtless in it, and it's in black and white. The absence of clothes, makeup, and crazy color palettes, are a reminder that behind all the dazzle, Scavullo could reach into a person with his camera in a way few photographers can.