GUY BOURDIN (1928-1991)

The Vogue caption introduces Toto as Italy's greatest comic actor, 'A refined and distinguished figure, who had honed his craft in the tough world of music-hall. With his deadpan Buster Keaton mask, he was the unforgettable star of Naples Millionaire and The Gold of Naples.'

The strategy of sitting his subject at a table bearing scattered objects (here spaghetti as a metaphor for Italy) reprised an idea that Bourdin utilised in a Vogue fashion shoot in April 1955 in which the foreground table was similarly strewn, on this occasion with pins or hairgrips.