On 4 October, Galerie Melilli Mancinetti, Berlin’s newest gallery for contemporary photography and art, opened with a solo show by legendary New York photographer Lawrence Schiller. Under the title A Splash of Marilyn, the exhibition will grant a photograph look behind the scenes and during the making of the last movie with Marilyn Monroe, Something’s Got to Give.
Just moments before her death, the actress gave the young photographer Schiller his big break. The year was 1962 and the 25 year-old Schiller was on assignment for Paris Match magazine. He already knew Marilyn, they had met on the set of Let’s Make Love, but nothing could have prepared him for the day she appeared nude during a swimming pool scene. “Your already famous; now your going to make me famous,” the photographer said to Marilyn Monroe as they discussed the photographs he was about to take of her. “Don’t be cocky,” Marilyn replied, “photographers can be easily replaced.”
Lawrence Schiller_Marilyn Monroe_Somethings got to give_1962_copyright Lawrence Schiller_courtesy Galerie Melilli Mancinetti
Lawrence Schiller, Marilyn Monroe, Somethings got to give, 1962, copyright Lawrence Schiller, courtesy Galerie Melilli Mancinetti
With around 25 black & white and color photographs, the exhibition A Splash of Marilyn tells the intimate story of a legend before her fall and a young photographer on his way to the top. Schiller’s original, extraordinary photographs take us back to that time, and to the surprising connection that allowed Marilyn to bond with a kid from Brooklyn, a kid with a lot of ambition but very little experience. 50 years later, this series still reflects the glamour and beauty of Monroe, the freshness of the moments Schiller and she shared, and the uniqueness of their encounter…
