Guy Hepner Gallery

Michel Comte Louise Bourgeois Private sitting For Sale

Michel Comte
Michel Comte - Louise Bourgeois Private sitting, 1996, Digital c print

Louise Bourgeois Private sitting, 1996

Digital c print

26 x 26 inches / 66 x 66 cm- Edition of 20 36 x 36 inches / 91 x 91 cm - Edition of 7 47 x 47 inches / 120 x 120 cm- Edition of 3 69 x 60 inches / 175 x 175 cm - Edition of 1 - SOLD OUT

About this work

This intimate portrait captures the legendary sculptor Louise Bourgeois in a moment of quiet contemplation during a private sitting. Comte's lens reveals the artist in her later years, her distinctive presence rendered through masterful tonal control and compositional balance. The digital c-print process delivers rich blacks and nuanced gradations, creating a timeless quality that transcends conventional celebrity portraiture. The square format, unusual for portraiture, adds architectural strength to the composition while emphasizing the equality between photographer and subject. This photograph represents a significant intersection of two major twentieth-century artists at the height of their respective powers. Bourgeois, then in her mid-eighties, had achieved international recognition, while Comte was establishing himself as one of the most sought-after art photographers of his generation. The work exists in a carefully controlled edition structure across four sizes, from intimate to monumental, allowing collectors to choose a scale appropriate to their space. The largest format has sold out, reflecting strong market confidence in this collaboration. Available for purchase — enquire for price and availability.

Price on Application

Edition & Provenance

Year
1996
Medium
Digital c print

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About the Fashion Icons Series

Explore Michel Comte's Fashion Icons series, a celebrated collection capturing the golden era of 1990s celebrity and haute couture photography. Comte, born in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1954, initially trained in art restoration — working with contemporary pieces by artists including Andy Warhol and Yves Klein — before entering photography in the late 1970s after Karl Lagerfeld gave him his first major commission. That launch propelled Comte into a decades-long career shooting for Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Interview, establishing him as one of the defining fashion photographers of his generation.

This body of work features iconic portraits of supermodels and A-list personalities including Nadja Auermann, Eva Herzigová, Sharon Stone, Isabella Rossellini, and Brooke Shields, many commissioned by Vogue Italia, Vogue Germany, and L'Uomo Vogue. Comte's masterful approach combines technical precision with intimate portraiture, establishing him as a defining voice in luxury fashion photography. Each work reflects the aesthetic standards and cultural moment of the period, from elegant studio compositions to conceptual editorial pieces for Dolce & Gabbana and French Vogue.

Beyond fashion, Comte has worked as a filmmaker and fine artist, and in recent years has focused on "Light," an art project addressing environmental decline through large-scale installations, paintings, sculpture, and multimedia works — a continuation of the same restless creative range visible even in these earlier fashion portraits.

These photographs remain highly sought-after by collectors, representing a pivotal moment in fashion history when celebrity and high fashion intersected with artistic vision. The series showcases the photographer's distinctive style and his lasting influence on contemporary portraiture.

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Louise Bourgeois Private sitting

About Michel Comte

Michel Comte's work commands a robust presence in the international auction market, affirming his status as a master of contemporary photography. His limited edition prints, particularly from his influential fashion and portraiture archives, are regularly featured in sales at Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips.

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