Summary
- Rafael Pavarotti’s first exhibition in France
- More than 200 photographic prints at the Musée des Arts décoratifs
- October 2, 2026 to May 2, 2027
- Admission €15 and free entry for visitors under 26
Event Details
The Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris will host Rafael Pavarotti’s first exhibition in France, featuring more than 200 photographic prints, from October 2, 2026 to May 2, 2027.
Rafael Pavarotti, photographe, curated by Sébastien Quéquet, brings together magazine covers, portraits of pop-culture figures and campaigns for major fashion houses. The Brazilian photographer’s work will be presented alongside photographs from the museum’s collection.
The exhibition explores the connection between fashion photography, personal memory and representation. Pavarotti’s intense colours, staging and placement of Black models at the centre of his images form a distinctive visual language rooted in his background and experiences.
From the Amazon to international magazines
Pavarotti was born in 1993 in Pará, in the Amazon region, and has African and Indigenous roots. The natural environment in which he grew up, the strong women in his family and his grandmother’s colourful crockery remain important sources of inspiration.
Self-taught, he began taking photographs at twelve using his father’s camera. At sixteen he moved to Rio de Janeiro, later working in São Paulo, London and Paris on a path that brought him to the forefront of contemporary fashion photography.
His work has appeared in Vogue, i-D, Acne Paper and The New York Times. He has photographed Rihanna, Harry Styles and Beyoncé, while his clients include Dior, Balmain, Maison Margiela, Ferragamo and L’Oréal.
Colour, staging and personality
His photographs combine saturated colours, strong contrasts and compositions drawing on pop and surrealist elements. Clothing becomes part of a wider staged scene in which body posture, hair, makeup and background are organised as a single image.
Pavarotti asks the people he photographs to share memories and ideas. Their involvement strengthens the portraits’ individual character and connects the constructed image with each subject’s experience.
Placing his work alongside the museum’s photographic archive situates this approach within the history of fashion imagery. Similarly, the Cecil Beaton exhibition previously covered by PTTL highlighted staging and theatricality as elements of fashion photography dating back to the twentieth century.
The Vogue cover and representation
A defining moment in his career was British Vogue’s February 2022 cover, featuring nine Black models under the title As the World Turns. The image embodies his ambition to expand the visibility of people who had long occupied a limited place in major fashion productions.
For Pavarotti, representation also concerns future generations: people of every skin tone should be able to recognise themselves in publicly circulated images. The exhibition therefore also examines the social and political dimensions of work developed through commercial commissions.
Dates, tickets and visiting
The exhibition runs from October 2, 2026 to May 2, 2027 at the Musée des Arts décoratifs, 107, rue de Rivoli, in Paris’s first arrondissement. Nearby Métro stations include Palais Royal–Musée du Louvre, Pyramides and Tuileries.
The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday, 11am–6pm, with temporary exhibitions remaining open until 9pm on Thursdays. It is closed on Mondays. Admission costs €15 and includes exhibitions and permanent collections on the same day, plus an audio guide. Entry is free for visitors under 26, with places for those aged 18–25 subject to availability.
Bookings are available through the official online ticket page. The museum particularly recommends advance booking for weekends. Tickets are valid for the specified date and time; leaving the museum does not permit re-entry with the same ticket.
The programme includes 60- and 90-minute guided tours and a 90-minute English-language tour on October 16 at 4pm. For children aged 11–14, the Fashion Studio workshop on October 27 and 28 comprises four two-and-a-half-hour sessions. Individual activities require separate booking through the museum.
Our take
The exhibition offers an opportunity to study at a larger scale a photographic language usually encountered in magazines and on screens. Its dialogue with the museum’s collections could reveal how Pavarotti uses familiar fashion tools — colour, pose and staging — to give different weight to his subjects’ identities.
Frequently asked questions
When and where is Rafael Pavarotti’s exhibition?
“Rafael Pavarotti, photographe” runs at the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris from October 2, 2026, to May 2, 2027. The museum is located at 107 rue de Rivoli.
What does the exhibition include?
It features more than 200 photographic prints, including portraits, magazine covers and advertising campaigns. Curated by Sébastien Quéquet, Pavarotti’s first exhibition in France brings his work into dialogue with the museum’s photography collection.
How much does admission cost?
Admission costs €15 and includes the exhibitions, permanent collections on the same day and an audio guide. Entry is free for visitors under 26, with bookings for ages 18–25 subject to availability.
