Irving Penn Portraits at Thaddaeus Ropac Marais, Paris

From November 7, 2026, to January 30, 2027, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in the Marais district of Paris presents a selection of portraits by Irving Penn, spanning subjects from Marcel Duchamp to Elizabeth Peyton. The exhibition is free to enter and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 7pm, at 7 rue Debelleyme, 75003, near the Saint-Sébastien–Froissart metro station. The gallery frames Penn's photographic portraits as images that rival painting. Penn, quoted in the presentation, described his relationship with the camera as one of enduring admiration, calling the apparatus "half Stradivarius, half scalpel." According to the gallery, Penn immersed himself in the work of his sitters, seeking to move beyond the image they projected of themselves. A 1948 portrait of Marcel Duchamp shows him smiling, caught within the sharp angle of the studio. Another image depicts the violinist Yehudi Menuhin, his Stradivarius in hand, the instrument in shadow while his face radiates. The show is included in the publication's weekly roundup of new cultural highlights.