Carla Bruni-Sarkozy: on Gilles Bensimon
You’ve done tons of shoots over the years. Do you remember this one? I do. It was in my family’s summer house. I played something on the piano and Gilles gave me his Audemars Piguet watch to wear. We were much younger then. Death was still a romantic idea. How would you describe Gilles? Very different from anybody else I’ve ever met in my life. I think he is a free man and he’s living in his own free world. Before being a photographer, Gilles is an artist, first and foremost. What was your first impression of him? He was born Feburary 29, which means his birthday only happens once every four years. Considering this fact, he must be about 15 or 16-years-old, which explains everything. He’s a wise eternal boy. How many times have you two worked together? He takes pictures of me all the time. His last picture of me was taken when we were having lunch. I don’t know if I can call that work, though.
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Gilles Bensimon on Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
I love Carla. This was taken in her family’s house in Le Cap Nègre. She had just come in from swimming and wasn’t wearing any makeup. She sat down and started playing the piano and I started shooting. She’s a fantastic musician.