Mario Testino

Mario Testino OBE is a highly influential photographer in the world of fashion and portraiture. He has contributed to the success of various fashion and beauty brands, including Gucci, Burberry, CHANEL, and Dolce & Gabbana, and his work has been featured in renowned international publications such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, and V Magazine. In his recent project, A Beautiful World, Testino has captured emblematic images that showcase diverse communities from different parts of the world, transcending cultures and gender boundaries.

Testino was born in Lima in 1954, and although he came from a traditional Catholic family with no ties to the fashion or Hollywood industries, he moved to London in 1976 to pursue a career in photography. He gained experience during his apprenticeships at John Vickers and Paul Nugent’s studios, and his first commission for British Vogue involved photographing a girl’s haircut. This project marked the beginning of a long-lasting personal and professional partnership with stylist Lucinda Chambers. Drawing inspiration from his upbringing in Peru and teenage summers in Brazil, Testino developed a unique photographic language that defies conventional gender boundaries, emphasizing sensuality over sexuality. His ability to capture private, intimate moments and reveal the humanity in his subjects has earned him high acclaim. His subjects range from A-list celebrities, supermodels, and muses to individuals he has encountered while traveling the world.

Testino’s work has also been showcased in numerous museum exhibitions around the world, including the Nicola Erni Collection’s Smile! exhibition in 2020, Undressed at the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin in 2017, and In Your Face at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 2012. Private View was exhibited at the Shanghai Art Museum in 2012, Todo o Nada at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid in 2010, and Portraits at the Metropolitan Museum in Tokyo in 2004, and at Foam in Amsterdam in 2003. Testino has also held solo exhibitions of his work at prestigious galleries such as Hamiltons Gallery in London (East, 2019), Mary Boone Gallery in New York, Phillips de Pury in London, Yvon Lambert in Paris, and Timothy Taylor in London. Additionally, over 16 books have been published on his work, including Let Me In! (Taschen, 2007), Portraits (National Portrait Gallery, 2002), In Your Face (Taschen, 2012), Alta Moda (Museo MATE, 2013), SIR (Taschen, 2015), Undressed (Taschen, 2017), and Ciao (Taschen, 2020).