Lot 523: m - Mario Sorrenti, B. 1971 , UNTITLED

signed and dated 99 on the reverse colour photograph

measurements image: 96 by 74cm.; 37 3/4 by 29 1/8 in alternate measurements sheet: 101.5 by 76cm.; 40 by 30in.

Martin Harrison (ed.), Fashion Faces Up: Photographs & Essays from the Fashion World, Berlin 2000, illustrated, no page

Private Collection, London

A stately home is the setting for Mario Sorrenti?s dark and troubling narrative. In grand surroundings that suggest wealth, education and a love for art, a woman lies in disarray on the floor with her face hidden from view.

At first sight the image could be a scene from a Dutch Genre painting. However, whereas this type of painting would offer conclusive moral tales, Sorrenti subverts the genre by staging an open ended scene, encouraging the disconcerted viewer to anticipate the cause of the subject?s misfortune and her fate hereafter.

Counted among the key artists of staged photography, such as Jeff Wall and Gregory Crewdson, Sorrenti puts meticulous effort into each image. The present work is a striking example of Mario Sorrenti?s technical mastery of light and shadow. Whereas piercing light mercilessly explores every detail of the woman, the pitch black areas by the piano and behind her only serves to increase the sense of peril and uncertainty.