Thaddaeus Ropac opens Irving Penn: L'Essence du portrait at its Paris Marais gallery on Saturday 7 November, 6-8pm, running through 30 January 2027 at 7 rue Debelleyme. The exhibition traces Penn's mastery of photographic portraiture, from his early existential portrait of Marcel Duchamp to his photograph of an exultant Elizabeth Peyton in the final decade of his life.

Penn decisively contributed to elevating photography to the status of high art, and the show argues his portraits rival paintings in technical bravura and psychological gravitas. The Marais presentation arrives while Penn is the subject of a wider Paris moment: PENN & FASHION runs at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie until 17 January 2027, and The World According to Penn at the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection until 28 January 2027.