From 29 May to 4 October 2026, the Museo dell’Ara Pacis presents Robert Mapplethorpe. The Forms of Beauty, an exhibition featuring approximately 200 photographs that explore beauty as an ideal of absolute perfection and formal rigor.

Curated by Denis Curti, the exhibition is promoted by Roma Capitale, the Department of Culture, the Capitoline Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, and Marsilio Arte. It is organized by Zètema Progetto Cultura and Marsilio Arte, in collaboration with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation in New York.

Robert Mapplethorpe (New York, 1946–1989) did not simply photograph his subjects—he sculpted space through the lens of his Hasselblad camera, imbuing every image with a sense of timeless classicism through geometric precision and an uncompromising pursuit of perfection.

Featuring a number of previously unseen works, the exhibition focuses on Mapplethorpe’s search for pure form, where the human body, portraits, and still lifes are all treated with the same meticulous attention to light, composition, and geometry.