Horst P. Horst

First published in the December 1939 issue of French Vogue, Mainbocher Corset is one of fashion's most iconic photographs, taken by Horst P. Horst (whose real name was Horst Bohrmann) on the day he left France for New York, a few weeks before the Second World War broke out. The model (known as Madame Bernon) poses with her arms elegantly stretched out to the sides, accentuating her sinuous contrapposto, and with her hair tied up, revealing the nape of her neck. Influences from Surrealists Salvador Dalí and Man Ray are manifest in this photograph. Interestingly, the published version of Mainbocher Corset was retouched, proving that photographic manipulation was in use at that time. One would leaf through the pages of the magazine and find the model wearing a tightly bound corset, rather than the original slackened one, which was deemed too provocative. When discussing this image, Horst wrote, ''It was created by emotion...It was the last photo I took in Paris before the war. I left the studio at 4:00 a.m., went back to the house, picked up my bags and caught the 7:00 a.m. train to Le Havre to board the Normandie...This photograph is peculiar - for me, it is the essence of the moment. While I was taking it, I was thinking of all that I was leaving behind.'' Please note this work was printed later.