ENDLESS SUMMERS IN ST. TROPEZ
David Hamilton (*1933) is now named in the same breath with contemporary artists such as Sally Mann and Jock Sturges. He shares with them the shift to biographical photography largely focusing on youth. What he doesn’t share with them is their realism. Hamilton has created his own world-renowned, romanticized style, which finds its strongest expression in his nude photographs: the Hamilton look. He works exclusively with natural light and utilizes a diffuser scrim and historical costumes because he is convinced that photography reached its apex at the beginning of the twentieth century; he is not interested in creating something “new” or “modern.” Photography developed out of painting, and Hamilton looks to remain in this solid tradition. Whether an erotic nude portrait or a landscape, his work finds its role models in the halls of art history: Raphael, Balthus, Degas.
Hamilton’s eventful career, which took the Londoner to Paris during the swinging sixties and then to St. Tropez, has been accompanied by numerous prominent acquaintances, as well as by critics. He has worked as photographer and director, as well as art director for the Parisian department store Printemps, opening the way for a light-footed lifestyle and body-hugging fashion. Today these are considered standard and are well suited to an open society fascinated by beauty.
The creator of the cult film Bilitis himself disarms the criticism that his images paint an unrealistic picture of life; he himself lives exactly such a life in the south of France and enjoys it to the fullest.
David Hamilton was born in London in 1933 and lives in an 800-year-old home near St.Tropez, France. David studied architecture and interior design before turning to typography and layout. While he was an art director of English magazine Queen, he bought his first camera. Later settling in Paris as art director of Printemps, he began devoting himself exclusively to photography.
In a career spanning over 40 years, he has released an average of about one book a year, selling millions of copies. His photographs hang in some of the world’s most prestigious art galleries and museums as well as in the homes of royalty and serious art collectors. David has also directed five feature-length films.
Books/Catalogs (Selection)
Dreams of a Young Girl, 1971
Sisters, 1972
La Danse, 1972
Souvenirs, 1974
The Best of David Hamilton, 1976
David Hamilton's Private Collection, 1976
Hamilton's Movie Bilitis, 1977
The Young Girl, 1978
Tender Cousins,1981
Un Été À Saint-Tropez, 1985
Vingt-Cinq Ans D'un Artiste, 1992
Twenty Five Years of an Artist, 1993
The Age of Innocence, 1995
A Place In The Sun, 1996
Holiday Snapshots, 1999
David Hamilton, 2006
Erotic Tales, 2006
Additional Information
Films
Hildegard Knef und ihre Lieder, 1975
Bilitis, 1977
Die Geschichte der Laura M, 1979
Zärtliche Cousinen, 1980
Erste Sehnsucht, 1983
Ein Sommer in St. Tropez, 1984
Bilitis II - My Love, 1992
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