Bettina Rheims
The Book of Olga, 2008
Hardcover in clamshell box, 29.2 x 43.7 cm, 5.57 kg, 154 pages
Edition of 1000 plus 200 artist's proofs
Signed by Bettina Rheims
9783836507608
Copyright The Artist
Photo: TASCHEN
Further images
Olga Rodionova is a well-known beauty and key player in Moscow’s fashionable jet set. When her husband Sergey, a powerful Russian oligarch, wanted nude portraits made of his wife, he...
Olga Rodionova is a well-known beauty and key player in Moscow’s fashionable jet set. When her husband Sergey, a powerful Russian oligarch, wanted nude portraits made of his wife, he approached Bettina Rheims. The renowned French photographer accepted, albeit with trepidation. But that disappeared when Olga arrived on the first day. “This huge black limo arrived,” recalls Rheims, “and an amazing pair of long, never-ending legs stepped out. She was really pretty and not cheap at all. And she turned out to be very funny and intelligent. Suddenly an obligation turned into something much more interesting.”
Rheims was captivated by Olga’s lust for life, and excited by the challenge of making edgy, arousing and explicit images that would transcend mere pornography. After the initial shoot at Rheims’s country home, Olga’s husband suggested the two women collaborate on a book, with Olga as its star. A second shoot followed, with a sadomasochistic theme, and other characters playing sex games with Olga. A third shoot, inspired by Marie Antoinette, took place in the studio. The Book of Olga brings together over 100 images from the Olga shoots and an introduction by French author Catherine Millet is one compelling depiction of female sexuality, allure, desire, intrigue, and fantasy.
Limited Collector’s Edition of 1,000 copies, each signed by Bettina Rheims.
The photographer: Bettina Rheims is a French fine art and fashion photographer. She first won acclaim with a dramatic series of portraits of striptease artists and acrobats, gaining a solo exhibition at the Centre Pompidou aged just 29. She has worked on advertising campaigns for major brands including Chanel and Lancôme, and taken portraits of such famous individuals as Charlotte Rampling, Marianne Faithfull, and Claudia Schiffer. Rheims won the Grand Prix de la Photographie de la Ville de Paris in 1994 and the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 2002.
The contributing author: Catherine Millet is editor-in-chief and co-founder of Art Press. She is also a curator and the author of many books, including La vie sexuelle de Catherine M. (2001).
Rheims was captivated by Olga’s lust for life, and excited by the challenge of making edgy, arousing and explicit images that would transcend mere pornography. After the initial shoot at Rheims’s country home, Olga’s husband suggested the two women collaborate on a book, with Olga as its star. A second shoot followed, with a sadomasochistic theme, and other characters playing sex games with Olga. A third shoot, inspired by Marie Antoinette, took place in the studio. The Book of Olga brings together over 100 images from the Olga shoots and an introduction by French author Catherine Millet is one compelling depiction of female sexuality, allure, desire, intrigue, and fantasy.
Limited Collector’s Edition of 1,000 copies, each signed by Bettina Rheims.
The photographer: Bettina Rheims is a French fine art and fashion photographer. She first won acclaim with a dramatic series of portraits of striptease artists and acrobats, gaining a solo exhibition at the Centre Pompidou aged just 29. She has worked on advertising campaigns for major brands including Chanel and Lancôme, and taken portraits of such famous individuals as Charlotte Rampling, Marianne Faithfull, and Claudia Schiffer. Rheims won the Grand Prix de la Photographie de la Ville de Paris in 1994 and the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 2002.
The contributing author: Catherine Millet is editor-in-chief and co-founder of Art Press. She is also a curator and the author of many books, including La vie sexuelle de Catherine M. (2001).