CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 9/6/2015

Not Built for Mortal Men: Karl Lagerfeld's Photos of Casa Malaparte

In 1997, Karl Lagerfeld spent five days photographing the 1937 Italian architectural masterpiece, Casa Malaparte with a Polaroid camera. "The weather was bad—the sky like lead—but the enchantment was there... Storm and rain gave a feeling of Deluge, ready to sweep the house away. During our stay the sun shone only for one short day… The moon, when it came out, slid down the famous stairs leading to the flat roof of the house—the magic terrace floating high above the sea. It’s an absent, mystic house that has gone to rest. It was nearly lost but found again. It has a sovereign unconcern for everything down to earth. It was not build for mortal men ... There are still many scars of despair and time. But you don’t see them, you only listen to the sea. The beauty of the landscape suffocates the eye at any season."