Mario Testino

Background

Mario was born on 30th October 1954 in a Spanish-Irish-Italian family at Lima, Peru. His father was a businessman, and Mario was the eldest son among six children.

Education

He pursued his primary education from ‘Santa Maria Marianistas’, a Catholic institution, and later joined the ‘University of the Pacific’.

During the first year at the ‘University of the Pacific’, he studied economics. Later, he joined the ‘Catholic University of Lima’, where he studied law.

In order to study ‘international relations’, he moved to California and joined the ‘University of San Diego’.

Testino had been a creative person since childhood and wanted to see himself in a career which helps him utilize his talent. Thus, he traveled to London, in 1976, to pursue a course in photography.

Career

Testino’s initial days in London were filled with struggle. He took a job as a waiter to earn his livelihood and also to continue his photographic pursuit. He also sold portfolios to aspiring models.

For a few days, he lived with a friend, at the latter’s apartment, but soon shifted to a deserted part of a hospital, and resided there for around seven years.

While he worked at the restaurant, he encountered some individuals who worked with the ‘Vogue’ magazine, and they expressed a desire to view his photographed snaps.

In 1983, Testino’s snaps were published in the ‘Vogue’ magazine, and thus, his photographic career started as a freelancer.

Initially, he worked for the British edition of the fashion magazine ‘Vogue’ and later worked for different editions of the same magazine, which were published all around Europe.

In 1986, he traveled to New York, where he started working for the renowned magazine ‘Vanity Fair’, and also the American edition of ‘Vogue’.

In 1995, Mario was appointed as the photographer of the ‘Gucci’ campaigns’ where his creativity was much acclaimed and thus, earned him campaigns of brands such as ‘Donna Karan’ and ‘Versace’. For ‘Versace’ he shot photos of the famous singer Madonna.

Testino got the opportunity to shot with Madonna a second time in 1996 when she was to be featured on the cover of the magazine ‘Vanity Fair’.

In 1997, his photographic career scaled great heights, when he was appointed by Princess Diana to shoot her photos for the cover of the fashion magazine ‘Vanity Fair’. The assignment concluded a few months before the Princess met with a tragic death. This was probably her last photo-shoot.

After the photos of Princess Diana were published, Mario had become a desired photographer among the British Royal family, and he still is. He is frequently appointed by the family to capture their special moments.

In 1998, this famous photographer published his first book ‘Any Objections?’, and the following year his second book ‘Front Row/Back Row’ was released.

Testino’s third book ‘Alive’ was published in 2001, which was followed by the publication of his ‘Portraits’ the next year.

The same year, at the ‘National Portrait Gallery’, London, an exhibition of Testino’s photographs was organized. This exhibition turned out to be a huge success and the same photos were even exhibited in cities such as Tokyo, Edinburgh, Mexico City, Milan and Amsterdam for the following four years.

In 2003, another book by this famous photographer titled ‘Kids’, containing pictures which glorify moments of childhood, was published.

He was honored with a bronze plaque at the ‘Rodeo Drive Walk of Style’ in the year 2005, which was inscribed with his quoted line, “Chic is nothing but the right thing.” The same year, his exhibition of Princess Diana’s photographs, named ‘Diana: Princess of Wales’, was held at Kensington Palace.

In 2007, his book ‘Let Me In’ was published, and two years later, his next book ‘Mario De Janeiro’ was printed, which was Testino’s tribute to Brazil, and had photographs of Gisele Bundchen, a Brazilian model.

This photographer published his next book ‘Kate Moss’, named after the renowned supermodel in 2010. He even shot photos of her for the ‘Vogue’ magazine.

In 2013, he shot Cara Delevingne for Burberry's Body Tender campaign - her first fragrance shoot.

Achievements

• Within the fashion and entertainment industry, he received the Walpole Ward for services to the luxury industry (2009), the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style Award (2005) and the British Style Award (2003).
  
  Testino was nicknamed the "John Singer Sargent of our times" by Terence Pepper, photography curator at the National Portrait Gallery in London. The Gallery's 2002 Portraits exhibition attracted more visitors than any other show in the museum's history at the time. For ten years it had the highest attendance of any exhibition ever to be held there. Over the next four years, the exhibition toured globally.
  
  Testino received an invitation to exhibit his creativity works from the ‘Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza’ in Madrid, and he became one among the few living artists to do so. He was bestowed with an Honorary Fellowship from the ‘Royal Photographic Society’ in the year 2011.
  
  These are awarded to distinguished persons having, from their position or attainments, an intimate connection with the science or fine art of photography or the application thereof. In this same year, GQ also awarded Testino the Man of the Year Inspiration Award.
  
  In Latin America, he has been awarded The Grand Cross rank of the Order of Merit for Distinguished Service in Peru (25 May 2010) and The Tiradentes Medal in Brazil (2007).
  
  In 2012, the ‘Museum of Fine Arts’, Boston, invited him to hold an exhibition for a new show, and this was his first show in the American museum.
  
  Testino has been recognized numerous times for his charitable
  
  contributions. He is a Save the Children ambassador and, in July
  
  2012, he launched a not-for-profit cultural organization in Lima, Peru. The organization, the Mate, promotes and showcases the work of Peruvian artists.
  
  Testino's personal art collection has been the subject of two exhibitions. The first, Somos Libres in 2013 was at MATE - Museo Mario Testino in Lima, Peru. The second installation in 2014, Somos Libres II took place at the Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli in Turin, Italy. His relationship with fine art developed through frequent visits to galleries and artists studios, and he has collaborated to create works with artists such as Keith Haring, Vik Muniz, John Currin, and Julian Schnabel.
  
  Testino was presented with an honorary OBE on 14 January 2014 by UK Culture Minister Ed Vaizey in recognition of his career and charity work.
  
  This photographer has published more than a dozen books, of which ‘Any Objections’ is his first book containing 82 monochromatic snaps and 49 colored ones. His most popular book is ‘Diana: Princess of Wales’ which contains gorgeous photographs of the princess that were shot a few months before her tragic death.

Works

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Views

Other than his creative side, this photographer has a philanthropic side too. He has been associated with many charitable works and has helped people in the best possible way.

In 2007, he initiated ‘Save the Children’ campaign to raise funds for the earthquake victims of Peru. He is also associated with organizations such as ‘Life Ball’, ‘Aid for AIDS’ and ‘Naked Heart Foundation’.

In 2012, Mario initiated a non-profit organization named ‘MATE’ which is associated with Peruvian artists.

Testino also published many books which contain creative photographs of his career. In his book ‘Lima Peru’, one can find pictures of his hometown, which have captured different aspects of daily life in Lima, such as sports, religion, culture, and people.

In January 2018, Testino was accused by 13 male assistants and models who worked with him of sexual harassment. Models Roman Barrett, Jason Fedele, and Ryan Locke complained about his behavior during campaigns in the 1990s.

Subsequent to the allegations, which extended to photographer Bruce Weber's conduct, Condé Nast announced they "will not be commissioning any new work with them for the foreseeable future."

More allegations against Mario Testino came to light on March 3rd, 2018. Four of the five new allegations described their incidents occurring during or after 2010. Testino has denied all allegations. The total number of people publicly accusing Testino of sexual assault rose to 18.

Quotations: He told Vogue "I wanted to give back to my country and I figure the best way that I can do this is by giving back through culture."

Personality

During his days of struggle, this photographer had colored his hair pink, which is said to have helped him get recognized by folks belonging to the world of fashion.

Connections

Father:

Mario Testino

Mother:

Teresa Silva

References

• Vanity Fair 100 Years: From the Jazz Age to Our Age
• Peter Lindbergh. A Different Vision on Fashion Photography (Multilingual Edition)
• Gisele Bündchen
• Remembering Diana: A Life in Photographs
• Mario Testino: Portraits
• Mario Testino. Undressed (Multilingual Edition)