Robert Mapplethorpe
Le forme del desiderio
29 January—17 May 2026
Palazzo Reale, Milan, Italy
Palazzo Reale presents the exhibition Robert Mapplethorpe. Le forme del desiderio (The Forms of Desire), with an unprecedented selection of his most iconic, powerful and unconventional works. These will offer visitors to Milan, during the Olympic and Paralympic period, the opportunity to encounter the work of the American photographer, one of the most original, refined, and controversial of the 20th century.
This is the second act of a trilogy that started with Le forme del classico at the Stanze della Fotografia in Venice, and will end at the Museo dell’Ara Pacis in Rome. Each presentation explores a different aspect of Mapplethorpe’s oeuvre: In Milan, the focus is on his aesthetic research, on his sensual nudes that stand out for their formal perfection – an Olympic Greek-inspired mimesis in which musculature and physical tension are brought to the fore. The body, sculpted by the skillful use of light and contrast, becomes a vehicle for the sublimation of his artistic vision.