Michel Comte

Michel Comte (born February 19, 1954 in Zürich, Switzerland) is a filmmaker and a fashion, portrait photographer. He is regarded as one of the most important photographers in the industry, regularly collaborating for Vogue Italia, l'Uomo Vogue, Interview, Vanity Fair etc. He directed and produced The Girl from Nagasaki, his first feature film in 3D, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2014.

Early career

Comte was born in February 19, 1954 in Zürich, Switzerland. His grandfather was a Swiss aviation pioneer Alfred Comte. Comte studied in England and in France, then started his career in contemporary art restoration, specializing in the works of Andy Warhol and Yves Klein. Comte was interested in photography and when moving to Paris in 1979, he was discovered by Karl Lagerfeld, who gave him first international assignment for the fashion house of Chloe. Comte then started working for such publications as Vogue US, Vogue Italia, Per Lui, Vanity Fair, and fashion houses such as Emanuel Ungaro, Chanel, Giorgio Armani and so on.

Career

Comte produced many iconic portraits including Jeremy Irons, Louise Bourgeois, Mike Tyson, Akira Kurosawa, Sharon Stone, Carla Bruni, Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, Miles Davis and many more. Many of his iconic images are shot for his long-time friend and influencer Franca Sozzani, an editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia. He continues to shoot for Vogue Italia. His advertising projects include Dolce & Gabbana, Nike, Lancôme, Ferrari, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Hennessy, Davidoff, Gianfranco Ferre, Hermes, Trussardi, Pomellato, Celine, Givenchy, Zeiss and so on. He was awarded as Photographer of the year 2000 by PHOTO magazine.

Comte also followed the career of F1 driver Michael Schumacher.

Photo journalism

Comte is involved in photo-reportage and documentary. In collaboration with Pomellato and International Committee of the Red Cross, he contributed to the construction of the orthopaedic center in Kabul. He traveled in conflict areas such as Bosnia, Kosovo, South Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and many others.

Film

Comte directed and produced his first feature film in 3D, The Girl from Nagasaki, retelling of the classic opera, Madame Butterfly, in which Puccini’s tragic heroine, emerging from the ashes of the atomic bomb, begins her fateful story of obsession for an American pilot.

Books

  • Michel Comte. Object Carpet, Achermann, 1996[1]
  • Michel Comte: Kontraste/Contrasts, Stern Portfolio Library of Photography, 1998[2]
  • Twenty Years 1979-1999: Faces by Michel Comte - Schirmer/Mosel, 1999[3]
  • Aiko T. - Steidl, 2000 [4]
  • People and Places with No Name - Steidl, 2000[5]
  • Charlie Chaplin: A Photo Diary - Steidl, 2002[6]
  • Michael Schumacher: Driving Force - Ebury, 2003[7]
  • Michael by Michel (Michael Schumacher by Michel Comte) - Steidl, 2004[8]
  • The Face of Pace: Scuderia Ferrari - 2006
  • Michel Comte on Women - I-Management, 2006[9]
  • Michel Comte: The Classics - I-Management, 2007[10]
  • Badenfahrt - Ed. Zimmermann, 2007[11]
  • Tibet, Zimmermann, 2007[12]
  • 791: Michel Comte on Michael Schumacher - Ed. Zimmermann, 2007[13]
  • Speed! Michel Comte on Michael Schumacher La Scuderia Ferrari, 2007
  • Michel Comte - 360° - NRW Forum Kultur und Wirtschaft/Museum fur Gestaltung, 2008[14]
  • Michel Comte - Thirty Years and Five Minutes - teNeues, 2009[15]
  • Michel Comte, Crescendo Fotografico, curated by Walter Keller, Carlo Cambi Editore, 2010[16]
  • Michel Comte: Not Only Women, Feminine Icons of Our Times - Silvana Editoriale, 2011[17]
  • The Little Girl from Nagasaki, A Film by Michel Comte, 2014
  • Michel Comte and MILK. A collaboration - Damiani, 2015[18]
  • Light, Michel Comte, Steidl, 2017 [19]

Exhibitions

  • Peggy Guggenheim, Venice 1995
  • Wanderausstellung, Germany 2001
  • Centro Internazionale di Fotografia, Verona 2002
  • He Xiang Ning Art Museum, Shenzhen, 2005
  • The Face of Pace. La Scuderia Ferrari. Michel Comte, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich 2006 [20]
  • Michel Comte on Women, Hotel Suvretta House, St Moritz, 2006
  • Pobeda Gallery, Moscow 2007
  • Espace de l’art contemporain, Mouans-Sartoux 2008
  • NRW-Forum, Düsseldorf 2009
  • Young Gallery, Brussels 2009
  • Museum fur Gestaltung, Zurich 2009
  • Not Only Women, Lu.C.C.A. Center of Contemporary Arts, Lucca 2010
  • Crescendo Fotografico, Triennale di Milano, Milan 2011 [21]
  • Grand Palais, Paris, 2011
  • Contemporary Istanbul, Istanbul, 2012
  • Au Premier, HB, Zurich, 2013
  • Kunst Haus, Vienna, 2013
  • Galerie XXI, Geneva, 2015
  • MILK, New York, 2015
  • Michel Comte Neoclassic, Palazzo del Governatore, Parma, 2016 [22]
  • Michel Comte. Light, Maxxi, Rome, 2017 [23]
  • Michel Comte Black Light, White Light, Triennale di Milano, Milan, 2017 [24]

References

  1. ↑ Comte, Michel. Michel Comte. Object Carpet (in French).
  2. ↑ Comte, Michel (1998). Michel Comte: Kontraste/Contrasts. Stern Portfolio Library of Photography. ISBN 3570191656.
  3. ↑ Comte, Michel (1999). Twenty Years 1979-1999: Faces by Michel Comte. Schirmer/Mosel. ISBN 3888149215.
  4. ↑ Comte, Michel. Aiko T. Steidl. ISBN 3882437022.
  5. ↑ Comte, Michel (September 2000). People and Places with No Name. Steidl. p. 400. ISBN 3882437049.
  6. ↑ Comte, Michel (2002). Charlie Chaplin: A Photo Diary. Steidl. ISBN 3882437928.
  7. ↑ Schumacher, Comte, Kehm (2003). Michael Schumacher: Driving Force. Ebury. ISBN 9780091894351.
  8. ↑ Comte, Michel (2003). Michael by Michel by Michel Comte. Steidl. ISBN 978-3882438987.
  9. ↑ Comte, Michel (2006). Michel Comte: On Women. I-Management. ISBN 9783952301913.
  10. ↑ Comte, Michel (2007). Michel Comte: The Classics. I-Management. ISBN 9783952301982.
  11. ↑ Comte, Michel (2007). Badenfahrt. Ed.Alberszimmermann im AT-Verlag. p. 318. ISBN 3038003921.
  12. ↑ Comte, Michel (2007). Tibet. Zimmermann.
  13. ↑ Michael Schumacher. 2007. ISBN 978-3033013209.
  14. ↑ Comte, Michel (2008). Michel Comte - 360°. NRW Forum Kultur und Wirtschaft/Museum fur Gestaltung. ISBN 9111067160.
  15. ↑ Comte, Michel (September 15, 2009). Michel Comte - Thirty Years and Five Minutes. teNeues. p. 408. ISBN 383279302X.
  16. ↑ Keller, Walter (2011). Michel Comte. Crescendo fotografico. Carlo Cambi Editore. ISBN 978-88-6403-091-3.
  17. ↑ Comte, Michel (October 31, 2011). Michel Comte: Not Only Women, Feminine Icons of Our Times. Silvana Editoriale. ISBN 8836618758.
  18. ↑ Comte, Michel (2015). Michel COMTE and MILK. A collaboration. Damiani. ISBN 9788862084468.
  19. ↑ Comte, Michel (2017). Light. Germany: Steidl. p. 416. ISBN 978-3-95829-119-5.
  20. ↑ http://dnstdm.de/en/the-face-of-pace-la-scuderia-ferrari-fotografiert-von-michel-comte/
  21. ↑ http://old.triennale.org/it/mostre/passate/359-michel-comte-crescendo-fotografico#.Wl36AlQ-fOQ
  22. ↑ http://www.comune.parma.it/notizie/Ferre-e-Comte-Dettagli-1.aspx
  23. ↑ http://www.maxxi.art/events/michel-comte-light/
  24. ↑ http://www.triennale.org/en/mostra/black-light-white-light/
  • Comte, Michel. "Michel Comte Official Site".
  • Comte, Michel. "Michel Comte Estate Official Website".
  • Comte, Michel. "The Girl From Nagasaki".
  • Michel Comte on IMDb
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