George Hoyningen-Huene
George Hoyningen-Huene
Josephine Baker, circa 1929
Balenciaga, 1938
Platinum palladium print, printed 2022
Paper size ca. 39.37 in. x 29.92 in. / 100 cm. x 76 cm.
Image size ca. 35.43 in. x 27.55 in. / 90 cm. x 70 cm.
Each print is from an edition of 8 + 2 APs
Baron George Hoyningen-Huene (1900–1968) worked during the golden age of couture fashion and Hollywood cinema, and ranks alongside Steichen, Horst, Penn, and Avedon as one of the most prominent, innovative, and influential fashion photographers of the past century. Born in St. Petersburg, he spent time in London before moving to Paris in the 1920s, where he created photographs for Vogue and Vanity Fair. In 1935, Hoyningen-Huene joined Harper’s Bazaar magazine, where he continued to capture the fashions and stars that defined glamour, grace, and style in the early twentieth century.
In 2020 the George Hoyningen-Huene Estate Archives launched a new series of limited-edition platinum palladium prints, including Josephine Baker and Balenciaga. The creation of these photographs has been undertaken with the utmost care and consideration for the photographer’s original vision. The process, which employs metals more precious than gold, results in a lush, matte surface and tones that range from velvety blacks to delicate whites.
Hoyningen-Huene made several striking portraits of the Jazz Age icon and civil rights campaigner Josephine Baker (1906–1975) for Vanity Fair magazine, in which she wore hoop earrings and three gold- plated “Giraffe” necklaces inlaid with lacquer, the design of the Art Deco master craftsman Jean Dunand.
A portrait of Baker by Hoyningen-Huene featured in the groundbreaking 1929 exhibition “Film und Foto der 20er Jahre,” which celebrated contemporary photography as both an art form and a transformative means of communication. Almost a century later, this portrait of her was included in the 2024 exhibition “Josephine Baker: Icon in Motion” at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin.
Hoyningen-Huene frequently used sculptures to add a luxurious, classical note to his photographic sets. In the featured image, shot for Harper’s Bazaar, he combined a sculpture and fresh flowers with a black lace evening gown by Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga to create a supremely romantic picture. The model’s carefully coiffed hair and thin, arched eyebrows evoke the style of 1930s movie stars such as Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo.
Courtesy of Tommy and Åsa Rönngren, George Hoyningen-Huene Estate Archives
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