PENN, IRVING
No fashion photographer worked harder than Irving Penn to bring out the distinctive quality of each of his models. Sometimes he would begin his sttings early in the morning but it was often late afternoon before he was satisfied with any of his pictures.
Many of his pictures were black and white, severe in mood and strong in form. The pictures on either side of the heading show Jean Patchel, a famous model of the 1950s. It was the first black and white photograph specially commissioned to replace the colour illustrations Vogue had used on its cover since 1909.
The symmetry of the photograph is broken only by the model's sidelong glance. To help get the contrasts he wanted, Penn used black lipstick improvised from mascara.