Flower are one of the most common subjects for artwork, yet Mapplethorpe excels at bringing something radically new to his flower photographs. Setting them in a universe apart, their poses are classical, reduced to a series of essential forms. Their compositions are profoundly simple but mask a complex dynamic. Each one is evocative, and almost always sexually charged. When photographed by Mapplethorpe, these delicate organisms become almost muscular in their raw power.

Robert Mapplethorpe was born in 1946 and was raised in Long Island, New York. He received a B.F.A. from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. By the early 1980s, he challenged the definition of photography with new techniques and formats. Mapplethorpe continued to create powerful images until his death from AIDS in 1989.

• Often marveled at, but never equaled, Mapplethorpe's flower photographs are sublimely beautiful
• These images represent some of Mapplethorpe's—and photography's—finest moments
• Design by Dimitri Levas