As early as 1950, Saint-Tropez was already more than a fishing village and had become a second home to the Parisian high society that strolled to and fro under Willy Rizzo’s bemused and festive gaze. Everyone who was anyone would congregate beneath the Mediterranean sun, whether at mythical banquets or improvised parties. Willy Rizzo immortalized all the protagonists, from Brigitte Bardot and Roger Vadim, to Françoise Sagan and Jack Nicholson, to fans, students, and all the groupies from Saint-Germain-des-Prés…
The thirty-five photographs featured and sold at Studio Willy Rizzo transport us lightheartedly and cheerfully to a land of sandy beaches, sunshine, beautiful women, and escapism: that is precisely what people looked for at Saint-Tropez in the Nouvelle-Vague atmosphere of the time. The town’s rooftops would transform into cocktail lounges, like at Madame Arturo Lopez’s or, by contrast, into bohemian hangouts for artistic crowds from France, Germany, England, and Sweden. One mustn’t forget the already mythical Saint-Tropez harbor where celebrities and their fans would cross paths. How can one resist a rejuvenating plunge into these black-and-white gelatin silver prints published in a limited edition of just eight signed and numbered copies?
La belle histoire de Saint-Tropez by Willy Rizzo
May 18 to July 25, 2017
Studo Willy Rizzo
12, rue de Verneuil
75007 Paris
