iBourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection · 1er arrondissement
The World According to Penn
Nearly 450 photographs by Irving Penn, from the 1940s to the early 2000s, shown in a non-chronological installation spanning portraits, fashion, ethnographic reportage, nudes and still lifes in Gallery 2.
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Irving Penn's famous Corner Portraits hang here beside photographs of cigarette butts, faded flowers and fashion figures, all given the same wall and the same attention.
That is the point of the installation. Gallery 2 holds almost 450 Penn photographs from the Pinault Collection, spanning the 1940s to the early 2000s, and they follow neither chronology nor theme. Portraits, fashion, ethnographic reportage, nudes, still lifes and florals sit side by side. Curator Matthieu Humery told Judith Benhamou he wanted to show what an "extraordinary image-making machine" Penn was over a 65-year career. Penn gave cigarette butts the studio care of a famous face, a standard the pavement around Les Halles has never met.
It suits anyone who wants Penn at full volume. For a narrower take, the Maison Européenne de la Photographie shows 140 fashion photographs until 17 January. Tickets are €15 (€10 for ages 18 to 26). The museum opens until 9pm on Fridays and closes on Tuesdays. The show runs to 10 January 2027.
Editor's pick
Nearly 450 Irving Penn photographs from the 1940s to the early 2000s, hung out of chronological order so portraits, fashion, nudes and still lifes share the same walls.
Look for
The Corner Portraits
Penn's best-known portraits hang among images of cigarette butts, faded flowers and fashion figures rather than in a room of their own.
Cigarette butts and withered flowers
Penn's still lifes of discarded and decaying things share the wall with the celebrated faces, forming what the museum calls a vast visual mosaic.
Good for
- Evening Visits
- Nerding Out
Skip if
You want one theme at a time: portraits, fashion and nudes are deliberately mixed together.
With kids
The show includes nude photographs, so judge for younger children. Entry is free under 18.
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Image credits
9
- The World According to PennCourtesy of Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection
- Raymond Hains: A Work Under Construction. From the Grand Louvre to the 3 Cartier© Raymond Hains, Adagp, Paris, 2026
- The Harvest Season - Ibrahim MahamaCourtesy of Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain
- Affinities: Islamic Art Wonders in the Department of Decorative ArtsCourtesy of Louvre
- Bourse de Commerce - Pinault CollectionChabe01, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporainChabe01, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- LouvreBenh Lieu Song, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Centre PompidouAlf van Beem / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
- Lafayette Anticipations - Fondation Galeries LafayettePhilouSunshine, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0