ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE (AMERICAN 1946-1989)
Cock and Devil, 1982
gelatin silver print
image size: 39 x 48.4 cm (15 1/4 x 19 in.)
sheet size: 40 x 50 cm (15 3/4 x 19 5/8 in.)
framed dimensions: 54.2 x 63 cm (21 3/8 x 24 3/4 in.)
signed, dated and numbered 3/10 on verso

n.b. This lot has been seen and verified by the Mapplethorpe Foundation

LOT NOTES
In Cock and Devil (1982), Robert Mapplethorpe presents a striking intersection of religious iconography, sculptural still life, and erotic subtext. The composition features a bronze statuette of a leering, satyr-like devil - traditionally a symbol of unchecked libido and "sin" in Western Catholic tradition - menacing a tightly bound phallus with a pitchfork. This juxtaposition highlights Mapplethorpe's career-long preoccupation with the tension between his strict Catholic upbringing and his adult immersion in the transgressive sexual subcultures of New York City.

The image is a masterclass in Mapplethorpe's "sculptural" approach to photography. The high-contrast gelatin silver print emphasizes the metallic sheen of the devil figurine and the textured, fleshy reality of the phallus, which is constricted by leather cords. By treating both the inanimate object and the human form with the same clinical, formalist eye, Mapplethorpe elevates the subject matter from the pornographic to the iconic. The cords and the pitchfork suggest a narrative of domesticating or "taming" desire, a theme that resonates throughout his X Portfolio.
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Historically, Cock and Devil serves as a poignant bridge between the artist’s early, more raw S&M documentation and the hyper-refined studio work of his later years. It draws direct inspiration from the satirical and "Dionysian" imagery of ancient Greece, where satyrs were celebrated as attendants to the god of wine and ecstasy. Mapplethorpe reclaims this pagan energy, reframing the "devil" not as a figure of evil, but as a mischievous participant in the ritual of S&M, transforming a symbol of shame into one of aesthetic play.

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