Pirelli Calendar 2012 by Mario Sorrenti

‘The intense relationship between a photographer and his Muse is the very essence of the creation of a strong aesthetic dialogue which leads to the sublimation of natural beauty. In making ‘The Cal™’, I approached the subjects of my pictures by building a straightforward, intimate and real relationship which made it possible for me to instill the images with purity. In ‘swoon’, I put the bodies in direct contact with Nature, which harbors them as if they were its extension, in a set of images where rocks, land, tree trunks, sky and sea are all turned into a backdrop for the bodies’, says Mario Sorrenti, an artist whose fame was built on his extraordinary skill with nudes.

The 25 pictures of the 2012 ‘Calendario Pirelli’ eighteen black and white and seven colour — are presented in a refined, canvas-lined portfolio, a format that has never been used before.

The 2012 Calendar features 12 protagonists, nine models and three actresses. The models include the Brazilian Isabeli Fontana (2003 Cal by Bruce Weber, 2005 by Patrick Demarchelier, 2009 by Peter Beard and 2011 by Karl Lagerfeld), the Russian Natasha Poly (2011 Pirelli Cal by Karl Lagerfeld), the Dutch Saskia de Brauw and Lara Stone (2009 Cal by Peter Beard and 2011 by Karl Lagerfeld), the Americans Joan Small and Guinevere Van Seenus (2006 Cal by Mert and Marcus), the Polish Malgosia (2009 Cal by Peter Beard), the Lithuanian Edita Vilkeviciute, the British Kate Moss (1994 Cal by Herb Ritts and 2006 by Mert and Marcus). The actresses are the Ukrainian Milla Jovovich (1998 Cal by Bruce Weber), the Italian Margareth Madè and the Japanese Rinko Kikuchi.