MichelComte

The Man Who Makes Supermodels Look Good

Filed under: Art, Books

What's the sexiest photo ever to appear on Luxist? There are a few contenders for that title, but Michel Comte's nearly-nude shot of Gisele Bundchen featured in a Christie's auction last year is hard to top. That image is just one among many eye-poppers in the Swiss photographer's massive new monograph from teNeues, Thirty Years and Five Minutes. A trained art restorer and self-taught photographer, Comte came to prominence in 1979 with his first advertising commission for Karl Lagerfeld's fashion label Chloé. One of the top names in fashion and magazine photography, his work fetches tens of thousands of dollars at auction and has appeared in Vanity Fair, Vogue and many others. Included in the book are portraits of Sharon Stone, Jeremy Irons, Mike Tyson, Cindy Crawford (above) and a number of nudes including one of Carla Bruni. The volume spans Comte's entire three-decade career and includes his most iconic images.

Tags: Carla Bruni, CarlaBruni, celebrity, Gisele Bundchen, GiseleBundchen, Michel Comte, MichelComte, nude, photographs, supermodel

More Nude Supermodels on the Auction Block

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

Following Christie's' successful photo auction earlier this month where a nude of First Lady of France Carla Bruni fetched $91,000, the auction house is staging another sale of stunning images in a couple of weeks. The eye-popping event, taking place in London on May 15, features another photo by Michel Comte, who took the Bruni pic. The new one is of Brazilian bombshell Gisele Bundchen from 1999, and carries an estimate of $12,000 - $16,000.

Also included is an Albert Watson portrait of Kate Moss from 1993 (pictured here, est. $16,000 - $20,000), a Peter Beard photo of Salvador Dali in 1963 (est. $24,000 - $35,000), Richard Avedon's iconic 1981 image of Nastassja Kinski and a friendly boa constrictor (est. $30,000 - $40,000), and Lewis Morley's famous 1963 shot of Christine Keeler (est. $8,000 - $12,000), the model who was at the crux of a famous British government scandal in the '60s.

In addition, there are works by Ansel Adams, Diane Arbus, Robert Mapplethorpe, and William Eggleston on offer. The 115-lot auction is expected to bring in over $3 million.

[via Men.Style]

Gallery: London Photo Auction

Tags: Albert Watson, AlbertWatson, Carla Bruni, CarlaBruni, Christies, Christine Keeler, ChristineKeeler, Diane Arbus, DianeArbus, Gisele Bundchen, GiseleBundchen, Kate Moss, KateMoss, Michel Comte, MichelComte, Peter Beard, PeterBeard, Richard Avedon, RichardAvedon

Nude Photo of Sarkozy's Wife To Be Sold At Christie's

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Celebrity Shopping, Art

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is learning that one of the perils of marrying a beautiful model is that nude photos of your wife might easily surface. A black and white nude of the lovely Carla Bruni will be auctioned off to the highest bidder during an auction of the photography collector Gert Elfering at Christie's New York on April 10. The 13 x 10 1/8 inch gelatin silver black and white photograph was taken in 1993 and shows Bruni in all her glory with her hands discretely covering her nether regions (you can see the photo here, but it is not safe for work). The photo was taken by Michel Comte and is expected to bring in $3,000 to $4,000. Comte has said that he has many more pictures of Bruni, some more explicit, but that he will never put them up for sale.

UPDATE: The nude of Karla Bruni sold for $91,000.

Source

Tags: carla bruni, CarlaBruni, france, michel comte, MichelComte, nicolas sarkozy