Paolo Roversi. “We must be careful not to pollute the world with useless images.”

Light has always been a friend for him. At the end of a winter afternoon, when the sun no longer warms anyone outside, Paolo Roversi’s studio is bathed in a soft, golden, almost supernatural glow. In his office, the photographer, smoking a cigar by the window, apologizes for the “mess”. in front, a desk and tobacco-colored shelves are covered with notebooks, books, photos, and pens. side by side without ever overlapping. Some of his most famous portraits on the wall: The ageless look of Natalya Vodianova. Golshifteh Farahani’s burning. Or this photo of Kate Middleton, reminiscent of a Victorian canvas, created for her 40th birthday and now on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Actresses, models or princesses. Paolo Roversi photographed them all. Most of them were photographed here at Studio Luce (again, “light” in Italian, Editor’s note) in the 14th arrondissement, where the Italian born in Ravenna in 1973 installed his cameras. He never moved. Today, the Fashion Museum dedicates its first monograph to him, from March 16 to July 14 (1). an exhibition that the excited 76-year-old photographer sees as the apotheosis of a career made here in Paris.

For Paolo Roversi, the photograph reveals what has hitherto been hidden in the folds of the figure, just as bodies and faces seem to emerge from the shadows in his images to be sculpted by light. A look he analyzes Letters about light (2), a (very) beautiful book transcribing his correspondence with the Italian philosopher Emanuele Coccia; “Maybe unconsciously. [le photographe] is he looking for an unattainable truth, the soul of the world and everything,” he writes. “In this he is aided by what I call the other light, the one that everyone carries within themselves, like a torch that confirms its existence.” To accomplish this, Paolo Roversi establishes a unique bond with his model beyond technology, based on a boundless respect. Actress Melanie Thierry, whom he photographed a lot as a teenager, remembers his frequent visits to Luce Studio. “Paolo is elegance. She’s Italian chic, with her accent, her laughing eyes, she’s always laughing. His way of taking pictures with a 20×25 Polaroid (which earned him the nickname “Paoloroid”). Editor’s note) had something very ritualistic. we put on an operatic aria and before he clicked the shutter there was silence, we didn’t have to move for a few seconds, we just heard him counting behind his black curtain. Then there was a moment, like in apnea, when no one was breathing, waiting to reveal the result. It had an artisanal, very poetic side. I had the impression of being an artist’s muse, belonging to another time.”

A time when fashion photos rose to the ranks of works of art, quite far from ours and the incessant stream of clichés with which social networks are filled today. Paolo Roversi continues to illuminate it tirelessly with his special light. Last October, he published birds, a book of photos of owls, owls and hawks (3), “hunting” with his famous camera, using the Polaroid 25, his favorite format. Like his images of models, painters or clothes, these are again portraits through which the entire history of his subjects seems to be read.

Ms. Figaro: How do you feel about this first major monograph from the Palais Galliera?

Paolo Roversi: I’ve lived in Paris for 50 years, so this exhibition is like the crowning achievement of it all. When I arrived, I was really a novice photographer. My whole career has been here.

How would you describe the young photographer you were?

Like a young boy with high hopes but a very small address book. I knew nothing about fashion, I got into this world through acquaintances of friends. It immediately drew me in and intrigued me. I started looking at magazines when great masters like Helmut Newton or Guy Bourdin were working there. I was fascinated by their images and it attracted me.

What was your personality?

I was a dreamer. I didn’t show much determination, I was even quite shy, but through meetings and acquaintances I was able to make my way little by little. There is no rule, no recipe that I can recommend to a young photographer. I think everyone can make their own way as they can. I started with still lifes that I made at home on my kitchen table. Then I slowly moved on to live models, which I photographed a bit like objects. Like all young photographers, I was very concerned about technique, I was concerned about light and lighting. Slowly, of course, it developed completely.

How did this transformation happen?

This also happened little by little. For me, photography is always portraiture. Fashion photography is a double portrait of the woman wearing the clothes and the clothes the woman is wearing. Moreover, by photographing them, I wanted to reveal more than the surface, more than a nose, a smile or a curl of hair. I wanted to go deeper into the personality of my subject, into his soul.

When I close the door, everything that is logical, rational remains outside. It is the world of imagination, feelings.

Paolo Roversi

We know your photos of famous models, actresses, celebrities. Do you draw them like the “anonymous” models?

Yes! My subject is always the center of the world, whether it’s a princess or a model that no one knows. Photography, more than representation of reality, discovery.

Do you create a special atmosphere in the studio to achieve this?

There are no rules there either. Each time it’s different, the relationship changes depending on the personality of my subject. I don’t talk much, my approach is quite calm. I try to create an intimate atmosphere where my subject is comfortable, not attacking them. On the contrary, I try to calm him down and create an intimacy that might reveal some truth. Even if studio photography is not a reality for me. I always try to get away from that and go more into the dream. When I close the door, everything that is logical, rational remains outside. It is the world of imagination, feelings.

Does reality disappoint you?

It’s not that he disappoints me, it’s that he entertains me less.

Your 40th birthday portrait of Kate Middleton, sits in your office… and the National Gallery in London. What memories do you have of this photo?

A good memory because it was a beautiful time we spent together. He fascinated me. he is a person endowed with great kindness, very human. And incredibly photogenic. I tried to make sure she didn’t do too much makeup or hair like she usually does. Once again, I tried not to stay in the face of this princess, but to bring more. When I get there, it’s a win.

You are known for your lighting, the way you frame your images. How would you describe your relationship with light? Is it a harmonious pas de deux or an occasional fight?

It’s never a fight. Light is a friend, absolutely not an enemy. There is always a harmony that is created between my subject, light and me, it is a moment of meeting. He never gave me any trouble except when I was a budding photographer. But it was not about battles, but about small skirmishes due to my lack of experience and technique. And also confidence in myself.

Today we live in a society of images, everyone takes photos with their phones…

A little too much (laughs).

Do you think this has democratized or impoverished photography?

It democratized, but at the same time all these images also pollute. I find that a few are too many and that they don’t really have a reason to exist. For me, bringing a character into the world is a responsibility. We must be careful not to pollute the world with images that are useless. I think of this quote by Wim Wenders. “Let’s create more beautiful images and we will have a more beautiful world.”

The attitude towards women has changed in recent years. Has this also changed the way they are photographed?

Everything is changing at an incredible speed, especially the relationship between men and women. I made a book of nude photos NudiIn 1999, which I might not be able to do today, because the mindset has changed.

At the end of the year, you also published a book in the collection birds , from Atelier EXB editions, where we see birds of prey striking a pose in your studio. How are they designed?

I have always loved birds. when I go to the village, I like to listen to their song. I photographed these birds in my “mini studio”, a very small room that I like very much because it’s a really intimate space, like a meditation room. For me, every photo is like a moment of meditation. There, too, it was about taking portraits. I photographed the birds with my camera which was not easy as they were free so they were constantly moving. And I used Polaroids 25, obviously expired because we stopped making them a long time ago. That’s why some images are a little damaged, have “flaws”, which, to me, are qualities; for example, one corner or even half of the image is missing. To me, this gives them more mystery. But also about life.

(1) Paolo Roversi Exhibition Catalogue, edited by Paolo Roversi and Sylvie Lecaller, 206 pp. , €45, Eds Paris Musées / Palais Galliéra

(2) Letters about lightBy Paolo Roversi and Emmanuel Coccia, Gallimard, 168 p., €30, out March 14.

(3) Birdsby Paolo Roversi, Atelier EXB, 88 p., 39 euros