From the 28th February to the 9th March, Sotherby’s Galerie Charpentier is hosting an exhibition titled “Gainsbourg, Initiales L.G”, which plays tribute to French singer-songwriter, Serge Gainsbourg. Consisting of a gallery of portraits, shot by some of the most renowned photographers, the exhibition remembers one of France’s most inspiring artists. Previously unpublished portraits from William Klein, Helmut Newton, Pierre Terrasson, Claude Gassian, Tony Frank, Jean–Jacques Bernier and Yannick Ribeaut are all included. The snapshots of his life show both his passion for disguise and fancy-dress as well as documenting his then all-smiling love with Jane Birkin. The black and white photographs portray him as an intriguing character; one who often liked to put on the mask of someone else in front of the camera. For example this famous William Klein photo above, where his provocative side is revealed in a face full of women’s makeup and a billowing cigarette. Some of the pieces are overlayed with Gainsbourg’s own scrawled writing, giving the viewer a great insight into his mind, with the help of his butler who rescued the notes after his death in 1991.
The recent film, ‘Gainsbourg’, spans his life right from his childhood in 1940’s Nazi occupied France, to his death at the age of 62. Growing up the son of Russian Jewish parents, he was forced to leave Paris at a young age and wear the yellow star singling him out. The success of his singing career began in the 1960s, where he created songs which often had a bleak background or a strong sexual theme. One song, “Je t’aime..moi non plus” even featured simulated moans and groans from Jane Birkin and was subsequently banned on various radio shows. On the set of the film, ‘Slogan’, he met his future wife, Jane Birkin, who he had one child with, Charlotte Gainsbourg. After Birkin left him in 1980, he became increasingly eccentric, appearing on television programmes drunk and suffering from a deterioration in health.
See: http://www.vogue.fr/culture/en-vogue/diaporama/gainsbourg-expose
