Richard Avedon’s Nastassja Kinkski and the Serpent exudes a timeless eroticism. This iconic image was taken during a two hour shoot when Kinski was at the height of her career and Avedon was already a world renowned fashion photographer. Intertwined with a boa constrictor, grappling with temptation, seduction and power, Kinski is clearly referencing deeply rooted concepts in classical art and mythology, most notoriously the story of Adam and Eve and the serpent that tricked Eve to take an apple from the Tree of Knowledge. Commissioned for Vogue, the only fashion emblem present is the Patricia von Musulin bracelet which the editor of Vogue at the time noted she regretted including within the photograph. [http://www.sothebys.com/content/sothebys/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2018/erotic-sale-l18325/lot.pr.9P5LK.html]