1/7
1/7
André Rau: The Famous
André Rau: The Famous
August 14, 2025
André Rau, Grace Jones, for Stern Magazin, New York City, 1990
André Rau has long been considered one of the leading portrait and fashion photographers of our time, with frequent publications in magazines such as Vogue, Elle, and Madame Figaro. Many of his portraits have featured cultural icons such as Isabelle Adjani, Catherine Deneuve, Michael Jackson, Diane Kruger or Roman Polanski. However, Rau does not simply document the allure of exterior elegance and beauty; he also succeeds in capturing fleeting moments of vulnerability, irony and human connection – always with stylistic sophistication and high aesthetic standards.
The Famous brings together a selection of Rau’s best-known and most influential works from four decades of visual artistry. The showcased images tell stories of fame, staging and intimacy, while also reflecting on the possibilities and limitations of portrait photography with regards to celebrities and public figures.
André Rau was born in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1957. Having discovered his love for photography through early explorations with his grandfather’s Leica, he moved to Paris in the 1980s, where he began his career as an assistant to Peter Lindbergh. At the age of 22, he was already working for Vogue Italia. This was soon followed by international assignments, advertising campaigns and exhibitions. Today, Rau’s portraits are considered iconic records of the world’s culture and fashion scene across multiple decades.
The exhibition is on view at the Leica Gallery Munich (location: Maffeistrasse 4) from July 18 to October 18, 2025. Opening times are Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. The displayed works are for sale in limited numbers.
The Famous brings together a selection of Rau’s best-known and most influential works from four decades of visual artistry. The showcased images tell stories of fame, staging and intimacy, while also reflecting on the possibilities and limitations of portrait photography with regards to celebrities and public figures.
André Rau was born in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1957. Having discovered his love for photography through early explorations with his grandfather’s Leica, he moved to Paris in the 1980s, where he began his career as an assistant to Peter Lindbergh. At the age of 22, he was already working for Vogue Italia. This was soon followed by international assignments, advertising campaigns and exhibitions. Today, Rau’s portraits are considered iconic records of the world’s culture and fashion scene across multiple decades.
The exhibition is on view at the Leica Gallery Munich (location: Maffeistrasse 4) from July 18 to October 18, 2025. Opening times are Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. The displayed works are for sale in limited numbers.
André Rau, Grace Jones, for Stern Magazin, New York City, 1990
André Rau, Catherine Deneuve, for Elle France, Marrakesch, 1992
André Rau, Christin Gondola, for Vanity Fair, Venice, 2005
André Rau, Claudia Schiffer, for The Face, UK, 1995
André Rau, Isabella Rossellini, for Stern Magazin, Fire Island, New York, 2008
André Rau, Adrien Brody, Sygma Celebrity Agency, New York, 2000
André Rau, Jane Birkin with her dog, Dora, and the original “Birkin bag”, which was recently auctioned at Sotheby’s for 8.6 million euros in July 2025. The image was captured with a Leica R4.