Diver's, Horst as Model, Paris
Photograph taken by George Hoyningen-Huene supervised and print by Horst P. Horst
1930

Platinum/Palladium Print

George Hoyningen-Huene was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia on September 4, 1900. He was the only son of Baron Theodor Hermann von Hoyningen-Huene and Emily Anne "Nan" Lothrop. During the Russian Revolution, the family sled to London and later relocated to Paris. In 1925 George had worked his way up to chief of photography of the French Vogue. In 1931 he met Horst, the future photographer, who became his lover and frequent model. In 1935 Hoyningen-Huene moved to New York City where he did most of his work for Harper's Bazaar. He published two art books on Greece and Egypt before relocating to Hollywood, where he earned his wedge by shooting glamorous portraits for the film industry. Hoyningen-Huene's use of light was so ahead of it's time before anything resembling contemporary flash photography was known. Working in huge studios and with whatever lighting worked best, he would illuminate the model with such intensity and aggression. There is something about the texture of his black and whites that one seldom finds in contemporary work.