Nude men in rubber suits, close-ups of erections, objects shoved in the most intimate of places—these are photographs taken by Robert Mapplethorpe, known by many as the most controversial photographer of the twentieth century. Openly gay, Mapplethorpe took images of male sex, nudity, and fetish to extremes that resulted in his work still being labelled by some as pornography masquerading as art. But less talked about are the more serene, yet striking portraits of flowers, sculptures, and perfectly framed human forms that are equally pioneering and powerful.

They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
2018
7.1/10

The Celluloid Closet
1996
7.2/10

Milius
2013
7.0/10

Welcome to Chechnya
2020
6.8/10

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
2022
7.2/10

LA Originals
2020
7.0/10

Tupac: Resurrection
2003
7.9/10

Frida
2024
6.8/10

Love, Antosha
2019
7.4/10

Shawn Mendes: In Wonder
2020
8.2/10

Gilbert
2017
6.7/10

Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.
2018
7.7/10

Disclosure
2020
7.8/10

Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski
2018
7.5/10

Everybody’s Everything
2019
8.5/10

Crumb
1995
7.5/10

Madonna: Truth or Dare
1991
6.2/10

Gaga: Five Foot Two
2017
7.4/10

McQueen
2018
7.5/10

Circus of Books
2019
6.8/10
Race d'Ep!
1979
4.818/10