First of the Paparazzi

Images from a bygone era: Marcello Geppetti catches a playful Jayne Mansfield being lifted into a car after a glamorous night out

Marcello Geppetti was one of the originals, who is now considered to be more of a candid narrator of the Italian dream, of an Italy that will never return. An artist capturing a scene, rather than a cheap shot in search of scandal, his was an era before the rat-a-tat of the speed drives and the zoom lenses, when the huge soft pop of light from a giant flashbulb seemed to freeze the subject in the frame.

Whatever we may think of them, from the 1950s onwards, paparazzi changed the way we looked at celebrities and while we may not like their techniques, the provocative, in-your-face style and the immediacy of their intrusive photographs have exerted an influence far beyond the tabloids.

The canned stills of movie stars or the dutifully posed shots of society figures have their place, but there is no doubt candid camera shots capture something internal. But is it art? Stars these days are routinely depicted on the run, in action, off-guard, and yet as these photos by Geppetti show the right one is all about the composition.

A beautiful collection of his shots are on show from today until the 27th December in the Ambassade de Tourism, 40 rue Gambetta, Saint-Tropez.

Photo: Archive Marcello Geppetti