Undress for history, please. The complete Pirelli retrospective
The notoriously exclusive Pirelli Calendar, featuring glamorous shots of beautiful women, was first published in 1964. Reserved for important clients and VIPs, the calendar has since grown into a legend of its own, showcasing the beauty of models such as Alessandra Ambrosio, Gisele Bündchen, Naomi Campbell, Laetitia Casta, Cindy Crawford, Penélope Cruz, Milla Jovovich, Heidi Klum, Angela Lindvall, Sophia Loren, and Kate Moss.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the now-legendary institution that is the Pirelli Calendar, TASCHEN brings you a retrospective volume reproducing the complete calendars, photographed by Richard Avedon, Peter Beard, Patrick Demarchelier, Nick Knight, Karl Lagerfeld, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, Annie Leibovitz, Peter Lindbergh, Sarah Moon, Uwe Ommer, Terry Richardson, Herb Ritts, Mario Sorrenti, Bert Stern, Mario Testino, Bruce Weber, and many more.
Bonus features include rarely and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes images of the shoots, the unpublished 1963 calendar, and a selection of "censored" images deemed too risqué by the editors of the time. With an introduction by Philippe Daverio and an interview with art directors Derek Forsyth and Martyn Walsh.
The author
Born in 1949, Philippe Daverio is a writer, art dealer and art historian. Between 1993 and 1997, he was Head of Culture for the City of Milan, and is currently Director of the Museum of the Milan Duomo. He has inaugurated four modern art galleries, and written for a number of different publications including Vogue, People, Panorama, and Liberal. Since March 2008 he has also directed the magazine Art e Dossier. He leads courses in History of Design at the Politecnico di Milano and is Professor of Sociology of Art at the University of Palermo.
