William Klein - Simone + Nina, Piazza di Spagna, Rome (Vogue), 1960

William Klein, Simone + Nina, Piazza di Spagna, Rome (Vogue), 1960.

In making this photograph, one of his best-known images, William Klein instructed the models to walk back and forth on the crosswalk, the further one turning back to take note of their similarity of dress. Klein also made sure to include down-to-earth elements of everyday life such as pedestrians and a motorcyclist.

'Copyright 2006 William Klein' in the upper left corner of the image.

Artist's dry stamp in the lower right corner of the image.

Total dimensions: 41,5 x 31,5 cm on semi-gloss paper..

Fine condition (with small imperfections).

“Klein is one of those legendary photographers who made his own rules, like Man Ray,” said Alain Genestar, head of the French photography magazine Polka.

Klein photography of the 1950s was unusual for its time: grainy, blurry, high-contrast photographs--qualities generally considered defects in the popular photographic community. Klein not only accepted but cultivated these qualities by using a 35-millimeter camera, slow film, and a wide-angle lens, for both his fashion photography and his personal work. His approach set a precedent for many street photographers of the 1960s, whose work draws upon many of his innovations.

Considered one of the fathers of street photography, Klein achieved widespread fame in the 1960s for his bold fashion shoots at Vogue and for wildly inventive photo essays on cities including New York, Paris, Tokyo, Moscow and Rome.

One of the most influential photographers of the 20th century along with other photographers of his time such as: Man Ray, Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Edward Steichen, Werner Bischof, Robert Capa, Elliott Erwitt, Walter Evans, Eugene Smith, Philippe Halsman, Diane Arbus, Eve Arnold, Robert Doisneau, among many others.