"This image has a history. One night in 2008, I was having dinner at Mathi's in Paris. The owner, Gerard Nanty, told me that Yves Saint-Laurent very much liked this portrait and that he would be happy if I could make a print for him. This was the last studio portrait he ever did and it touched me that he kept the memory as I did. Naturally I sent him a print. A few days later, I received a bunch of white roses with a personal note from him. The following week, I learned about his death. The petals from the white rose were falling on my table like so many tears.”

In 1980 I went to photograph Paul Weller (of the The Jam) meeting his hero, Pete Townshend (of The Who) for the first time, for Melody Maker Magazine. We arranged to meet on Wardour Street in London outside the famous Marquee Club. 

It seems nearly everyone is familiar with this photograph of Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield. In many ways, this is the definition of a truly iconic, memorable image. We know the photograph so well, two Hollywood bombshells at the height of their fame, and Sophia – just for a split second looking down with scorn or contempt at Jayne’s infamous attributes. Like most iconic photographs, the story behind the image is just as incredible as the image itself.

It has always been my goal to surprise an audience with an image that challenges preconceived notions of a particular subject, especially if that person is extremely well known.

I like to think of my photographs from the 1980s as attempting to be entertainment experiences all on their own. And I often leave small clues behind in my images that might amuse my audience with a sly touch of wit.

For this portrait of Madonna, it’s important to remember the context of the period in which it was made, the late 1980s. At that time, Madonna was widely known as the “Queen of Reinvention,” because for almost every new song, album cover, video, etc, she presented herself in a completely new or different way.