Robert Mapplethorpe's 'Self-Portrait', 1980

"The formality and intensity of the early photographers are evident in what I do. I use a rather slow film and long exposures...and it gives you a certain intensity. I’m working with old fashioned techniques...there hasn’t been a creative portrait photographer since Nadar in the 19th century." - Robert Mapplethorpe, 1978

VIDEO: "There's a compelling strength that you see in the portraits." - Lou Proud, Phillips Head of Photographs in London, presents Robert Mapplethorpe's seminal self-portrait from 1980, to be offered in our upcoming Photographs sale, 8 May 2013, London.