“Whilst both his fashion photographs and his large-format nudes are staged with meticulous attention to the story and to the physical transformation of the model, Newton’s portraits are more often than not taken against simple backgrounds, without the use of any special tricks or devices. From 1975 onwards, portraits became a constant feature of his work, especially after 1980. Taken in extreme close-up, Newton’s portraits show the features and gaze of his subjects in a light which reveals every flaw and blemish. It is harsh, blunt, and direct ... Behind their apparent simplicity, however, Newton’s portraits fascinate because they bring out the subject’s inner being in all its complexity, while always preserving an element of mystery no matter how generic the subject may seem.”
—Francoise Marquet, Introduction to Helmut Newton: Work
