Mario Testino

Testino was born and grew up in Lima into a well-to-do Roman Catholic family. He was the eldest of six children and is of Spanish, Italian, and Irish descent.{{Cite web|title=Mario Testino biography|url=http://www.britannica.com/biography/Mario-Testino|access-date=1 September 2015}} He attended a Catholic school, Santa Maria Marianistas. As a child he wanted to be a priest.{{Cite news |last=Farndale |first=Nigel |date=24 February 2009 |title=Mario Testino: 'it's not all glamour' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/photography/4733443/Mario-Testino-its-not-all-glamour.html |access-date=2 September 2015}}

Testino studied economics at La Universidad del Pacífico followed by the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru and the University of San Diego.

In 1976, he went to London to study photography after abandoning his studies of Economics, Law and International Affairs. It was during apprenticeships at the studios of John Vickers and Paul Nugent that he made his first attempts as a photographer. Living in a humble shared house that had been converted from a hospital, without much money,{{Cite web|title=Mario Testino: 'I was always better at photographing men'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/apr/03/mario-testino-i-was-always-better-at-photographing-men|website=The Guardian|access-date=1 September 2015|first=Nadja|last=Sayej|date=3 April 2015 }} he funded himself by working as a waiter. He had his hair dyed pink which helped him get noticed as a photographer and took inspiration from British celebrity fashion photographer Cecil Beaton.{{Cite web|title=Mario Testino on Cecil Beaton's portraits of the Queen at the V&A|date=7 January 2011 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/photography/8971298/Mario-Testino-on-Cecil-Beatons-portraits-of-the-Queen-at-the-VandA.html|access-date=1 September 2015}} London was a city that allowed him to flourish expressively without the restrictions he felt were imposed on him in Peru.

His work first appeared in Vogue in 1983.{{Cite web|title = Mario Testino| date=11 February 2014 |url = http://www.vogue.co.uk/spy/biographies/mario-testino-biography|access-date = 1 September 2015}}

During the early 1990s, Testino looked to his childhood growing up in Peru and his teenage summers in Brazil for inspiration,{{Cite web|title=Mario Testino returns home to focus on the beauty of Peru|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/apr/29/mario-testino-lima-return-england-photograhy|website=The Guardian|access-date=1 September 2015|first=Dan|last=Collyns|date=29 April 2014 }} which helped him to shape his photographic language.

Testino has become one of the world's best-known and most celebrated fashion photographers. He has documented subjects from A-list stars, musicians, supermodels and artists as well as subjects he has encountered throughout his travels. His work has been featured in magazines such as Vogue, V Magazine, Vanity Fair, GQ, LOVE, Allure and VMan. Eighteen exhibitions and more than 16 books have been published on his work. Suzy Menkes, Vogue's International Editor explains, "Testino's skill is first and foremost to catch the moment and to bring out the humanity in his subjects".{{Cite news|title=Mario Testino: 30 Years Behind the Camera|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/03/fashion/03iht-rmario03.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2 October 2011|access-date=2 September 2015|issn=0362-4331|first=Suzy|last=Menkes}}

Some of Testino's most recognizable work derives from his portraits of royals, most famously, his series with Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997.{{Cite web|title=Masters of Photography: Mario Testino|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/03/testino200803|access-date=2 September 2015|first=David|last=Friend|website=Vanity Fair |date=March 2008 }} Commissioned for Vanity Fair he said: "[Diana] opened a door for me because I then started photographing the royal families of Europe extensively ... this brings out my love for tradition, for a way of showing family and the longevity of people".{{Cite news|title=Mario Testino|url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323741004578418481342344010|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=2 September 2015|issn=0099-9660}} Testino was also the official photographer for portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the occasion of their engagement in December 2010.{{Cite web|title=Picture of Happiness: Mario Testino on Photographing the Royal Engagement Portrait|date=21 January 2011 |url=http://www.vogue.com/870391/picture-of-happiness-mario-testino-on-photographing-the-royal-engagement-portrait/|access-date=2 September 2015}} In July 2015, he took the official photographs of the British royal family after Princess Charlotte of Cambridge's christening at Sandringham Estate. He has photographed many other royal families in a similar fashion.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25741987|title=Mario Testino awarded honorary OBE|work=BBC News|date=15 January 2014 }}

Testino's collaboration with Tom Ford and fashion stylist Carine Roitfeld on provocative advertising campaigns in the mid-1990s is widely credited to have led to the revival of Gucci as a major fashion house.{{Cite web|title=Tendances de Mode - Actualité, Tendances et Conseils de mode|url=http://www.tendances-de-mode.com/en/2007/09/21/400-mario-testino|website=tendances-de-mode.com|access-date=2 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831125032/http://www.tendances-de-mode.com/en/2007/09/21/400-mario-testino|archive-date=31 August 2013|url-status=dead}}

Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of American Vogue stated that "Fashion photography is this uneasy mix of art and commerce and I think nobody understands this better than Mario".{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9kUljPTpss |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/T9kUljPTpss |archive-date=21 December 2021 |url-status=live|access-date=24 January 2018|title=YouTube.com|website=YouTube |date=25 September 2014 }}{{cbignore}}{{Cite web|title=Press Release - Omnibus|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/01_january/08/mariotestino.shtml|website=bbc.co.uk|date=8 January 2002}}

Aaron Hicklin of The Observer described him as "the world's most prolific magazine and fashion trade photographer".{{cite news|last=Hicklin|first=Aaron|title=Mario Testino interview: the man who makes models super|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/oct/21/mario-testino-interview-fashion-photography|access-date=21 October 2012|newspaper=The Observer|date=21 October 2012}} His persistence in shooting Gisele Bündchen and Kate Moss is widely credited with elevating their supermodel status. Testino started the ‘Towel Series’ on his Instagram account in 2013, featuring influential people, including musicians, actors and models wearing only towels. The series became widely replicated by his followers on the social platform{{Cite web|title=#towelseries hashtag on Instagram • Photos and Videos|url=https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/towelseries/|access-date=19 March 2021|website=www.instagram.com}} and highly in demand among celebrities.{{Cite web|last=Claire|first=Marie|date=25 May 2016|title=Mario Testino Towel Series|url=https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/celebrity-news/mario-testino-towel-series-38463|access-date=19 March 2021|website=Marie Claire|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=V100: Mario Testino's Towel Series For Instagram|url=https://vmagazine.com/article/v100-mario-testinos-towel-series-for-instagram-2/|access-date=19 March 2021|website=V Magazine}}

Testino was nicknamed the "John Singer Sargent of our times" by Terence Pepper, photography curator at the National Portrait Gallery in London. The Gallery's 2002 Portraits exhibition attracted more visitors than any other show in the museum's history at the time. For ten years it had the highest attendance of any exhibition ever to be held there. Over the next four years the exhibition toured globally.{{Cite web|title=National Portrait Gallery - Mario Testino: Portraits|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/about/press/mario-testino-portraits2|website=npg.org.uk|access-date=2 September 2015}} Testino’s work has been exhibited in museums around the world, including the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin (Undressed, 2017){{Cite web|title=Testino, Undressed Newton, Unseen Pigozzi, Pool Party|url=https://helmut-newton-foundation.org/en/ausstellungen/testino-newton-pigozzi/|access-date=19 March 2021|website=HELMUT NEWTON FOUNDATION|language=en-US}} the Shanghai Art Museum (Private View, 2012){{Cite web|title=CV|url=https://www.mariotestino.com/cv/|access-date=19 March 2021|website=www.mariotestino.com|language=en-US}} and the National Portrait Gallery in London (Portraits, 2002){{Cite web|title=Mario Testino: Portraits - National Portrait Gallery|url=https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2002/mario-testino-portraits|access-date=19 March 2021|website=www.npg.org.uk}}

More than 17 books of his photography have been published, including Ciao, Sir, MaRIO DE JANEIRO Testino, and Kate Moss by Mario Testino, all published by TASCHEN;{{Cite web|last=TASCHEN|title=Mario Testino. Maestro de la fotografía. Libros TASCHEN|url=https://www.taschen.com/pages/es/search/mario-testino|access-date=19 March 2021|website=www.taschen.com|language=es}} as well as Alta Moda and Pasito a Paso, published by Museo MATE{{Cite web|title=Alta moda – MATE.pe|url=https://mate.pe/publications/alta-moda/?lang=en|access-date=19 March 2021|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Pasito a paso – MATE.pe|url=https://mate.pe/publications/pasito-a-paso/?lang=en|access-date=19 March 2021|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=A Beautiful World|url=https://www.mariotestino.com/photography/personal-projects/a-beautiful-world/|access-date=19 March 2021|website=www.mariotestino.com|language=en-US}}

Testino's personal art collection has been the subject of two exhibitions.{{Cite web|title = Mario Testino's shrewd eye for art-Telegraph|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/art/32595/mario-testinos-shrewd-eye-for-art.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140506131333/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/art/32595/mario-testinos-shrewd-eye-for-art.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = 6 May 2014|access-date=2 September 2015}} The first, Somos Libres{{Cite web|url=https://www.art-agenda.com/announcements/186663/n-a|title=art-agenda|website=www.art-agenda.com}} in 2013 was at MATE - Museo Mario Testino in Lima, Peru. The second installation in 2014, Somos Libres II{{Cite web|url=https://www.pinacoteca-agnelli.it/visit/5692/somos-libres-ii-2/|title=Pinacoteca Giovanni and Marella Agnelli SOMOS LIBRES II|website=www.pinacoteca-agnelli.it}} took place at the Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli in Turin, Italy. His relationship with fine art developed through frequent visits to galleries and artists studios,{{Cite web|title=The secret diary of Mario Testino: What the world's most glamorous|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/the-secret-diary-of-mario-testino-what-the-worlds-most-glamorous-photographer-saw-859682.html|website=The Independent|date=5 July 2008 |access-date=7 October 2015}} and he has collaborated to create works with artists such as Keith Haring,{{Cite web|title=The Face/Keith Haring And Mario Testino Fashion Spread|url=http://testpressing.org/2011/05/the-face-keith-haring-mario-testino-fashion-spread|website=testpressing.org|access-date= 7 October 2015}} Vik Muniz,{{Cite web|title=VikMuniz|url=http://vikmuniz.net/news|website=vikmuniz.net|access-date=7 October 2015}} John Currin{{Cite web|title=John Currin|url=http://www.sadiecoles.com/biographies/john-currin|website = www.sadiecoles.com|access-date=7 October 2015}} and Julian Schnabel.{{Cite news|title=Spaß am Set ist wichtig|url=http://www.zeit.de/kultur/kunst/2010-09/mario-testino|newspaper=Die Zeit|access-date=7 October 2015|first=Von Holger|last=Christmann|date=29 September 2010 |language=de}}

Testino was presented with an honorary OBE on 14 January 2014 by UK Culture Minister Ed Vaizey in recognition of his career and charity work.{{cite news|title=World-renowned photographer Mario Testino awarded honorary OBE|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/world-renowned-photographer-mario-testino-awarded-honorary-obe|access-date=29 April 2015|publisher=UK Department for Culture, Media & Sport|date=14 January 2014}}

In 2011, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by The Royal Photographic Society.{{cite web|title=Honorary Fellowships|url=http://www.rps.org/awards/history-and-winners/honorary-fellowships|publisher=Royal Photographic Society|access-date=29 April 2015}} These are awarded to distinguished persons having, from their position or attainments, an intimate connection with the science or fine art of photography or the application thereof. In this same year GQ also awarded Testino the Man of the Year Inspiration Award.{{Cite web|title=Video: Mario Testino's speech|date=29 March 2012 |url=http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/men-of-the-year/home/winners-2011/video-emma-watson-presents-to-mario-testino|access-date=18 September 2015}}

In Latin America, he has been awarded The Grand Cross rank of the Order of Merit for Distinguished Service in Peru (25 May 2010) and The Tiradentes Medal in Brazil (2007).{{Cite web|title = IN YOUR FACE . Mario Testino|url=http://www.faap.br/hotsites/mario-testino/about-mario-testino.asp|website=faap.br|access-date=18 September 2015}}

Within the fashion and entertainment industry, he received the Walpole Ward for services to the luxury industry (2009),{{Cite web|title=Testino Honoured|url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2009/11/17/walpole-awards-winners|date=17 November 2009|access-date=1 September 2015}} the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style Award (2005){{Cite web|title=Rodeo Drive Walk of Style Highlights|url=http://lovebeverlyhills.com/articles/view/rodeo-drive-walk-of-style|website=lovebeverlyhills.com|access-date=18 September 2015}} and the British Style Award (2003).

To raise awareness of the value and beauty of cultural heritage all around the world, Testino has launched his most ambitious project yet: "A Beautiful World". The new body of work shines a unique spotlight onto the rich cultural heritage of traditional communities and people around the world.

:See: List of works and exhibitions by Mario Testino

In January 2018, The New York Times published an article in which Testino was accused by 13 male assistants and models who worked with him of sexual harassment, exploitation, and assault. Models Roman Barrett, Jason Fedele and Ryan Locke complained about his behaviour during campaigns in the 1990s.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/13/style/mario-testino-bruce-weber-harassment.html| title=Male Models Say Mario Testino and Bruce Weber Sexually Exploited Them |work=The New York Times |date=13 January 2018 |last1=Bernstein |first1=Jacob |last2=Friedman |first2=Vanessa |last3=Schneier |first3=Matthew |accessdate=6 October 2022}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/14/mario-testino-and-bruce-weber-models-claim-fashion-vogue|title=Mario Testino and Bruce Weber 'sexually exploited models' |work=The Guardian |date=14 January 2018 |accessdate=6 October 2022}} Subsequent to the allegations (which extended to photographer Bruce Weber's conduct) Condé Nast announced they "will not be commissioning any new work with them for the foreseeable future."{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/01/15/media/mario-testino-bruce-weber-conde-nast/index.html |title=Vogue publisher drops Bruce Weber and Mario Testino over misconduct allegations |publisher=CNN |date=15 January 2018 |last=Stelter |first=Brian |accessdate=6 October 2022}}.

Further allegations were reported by The New York Times against Testino in 3 March 2018. Four of the five new allegations described their incidents occurring during or after 2010. Testino has denied all allegations. The total number of people publicly accusing Testino of sexual assault rose to 18.

Testino has been honoured for his contributions to many non-profit causes and charitable organizations through various awards and recognitions. In 2010, he was appointed one of the highest honours in his native country, The Grand Cross Order of Merit in Peru, and became President of the Board of World Monuments Fund Peru in 2014.{{Cite web|title=Mario Testino: Peru and me, World Update|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01zk0rf|website=BBC|date=22 May 2014 |access-date=2 September 2015}}

In his role as a Save the Children ambassador he helped to raise funds to build the El Salvador Clinic in the Pueblo Nuevo District, Chincha in his native Peru. The clinic was built for children with tuberculosis in the area badly affected by the devastating earthquake, which hit the coast of Peru in August 2007. The El Salvador Clinic was entirely funded from the sale of a single print from his portraits of Princess Diana, auctioned for £100,000.

He helped to raise funds for Natalia Vodianova's Naked Heart Foundation to build a playground in a Moscow children’s hospital specializing in cancer. It is a cause close to his heart since his brother died from the disease at the age of 10.

In 2012, Testino opened his first non-profit association in Lima, the Asociación Mario Testino (MATE).{{Cite web |last=Alexander |first=Ella |date=2012-07-13 |title=Mario's Mate |url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/mario-testino-opens-mate-culture-foundation-in-peru |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=British Vogue |language=en-GB}} Museo Mario Testino was established to act as a dynamic platform for Peruvian art through the cultivation and promotion of culture and heritage.

Testino restored a 13,000 sq. ft. mansion built in 1898, which is home to a permanent exhibition of his work alongside a temporary exhibition space for Peruvian and international artists.{{Cite web|title=Museo Mario Testino|url=http://www.mariotestino.com/articles/mate-museo-mario-testino|website=www.mariotestino.com|access-date=2 September 2015}}{{Cite web|title=Art Gallery Find: MATE Museo Mario Testino Lima|url = http://www.meltingbutter.com/art-gallery-find-mate-museo-mario-testino-lima|website=Melting Butter| date=21 June 2015 |access-date=7 October 2015}}

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Category:1954 births

Category:Fashion photographers

Category:Honorary officers of the Order of the British Empire

Category:Living people

Category:Artists from Lima

Category:Peruvian expatriates in the United Kingdom

Category:Peruvian people of Irish descent

Category:Peruvian people of Italian descent

Category:Peruvian photographers

Category:University of the Pacific (Peru) alumni

Category:Peruvian LGBTQ photographers

Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour