Thread by @patrickwitty

This photo of Vladimir Putin was taken by Platon in 2007 for @TIME. Fifteen years later, it remains one of the most singular portraits of a world leader ever made, transcending photography. It has become a symbol. 🧵

Putin was @TIME's Person of the Year in 2007. Platon photographed him at his private residence outside of Moscow. "I was about an inch and a half from Putin's nose...I could feel his breathing on my hand." Platon told @CNN in this video from 2014.

Here's a good interview with Platon from 2008 about his experience photographing Putin, made after the image won a @worldpressphoto award.

"I'm a massive Beatles fan, are you?" Platon asked Putin, just before the shoot. Putin responded, "I love the Beatles." Platon then asked Putin his favorite Beatles song. "Yesterday." he replied.

Soon after the iconic portrait of Putin was published in @TIME, opposition groups started using the image in protests all over the world. Photos by @toalaolivares (Amsterdam, 2013) and @LukaDakskobler (Ljubljana, 2022).

Platon's portrait of Putin even shows up in the outstanding @navalny documentary by @danielroher on @hbomax...

Love this appropriation of Platon's portrait by the artist Pablo el Terrible, made in 2013 for putinarainbow.com. This illustration is on Russia’s official list of extremist materials.

There are only a handful of other formal portraits of Putin out there. The most widely used is his official portrait from the Kremlin. French collage artist Matthieu Bourel created a stunning illustration using this image for the @nytimes in 2018...

French photographer Stéphane Lavoué made this piercing portrait of Putin in Paris for @lemondefr in 2008. Lavoué recently told @LeTelegramme, "He’s not pretending. One can find it icy, but with hindsight, I find that it exudes a certain melancholy."

I picked up Stéphane's portrait of Putin for the cover of @TIME in 2013 when I was the international picture editor. @TelegraphMag also published the photo. But it didn't hit like Platon's. Still, an amazing portrait.

The most recent formal portrait of Putin was made by Jeremy Liebman for @BW in 2016. Jeremy's portrait has a completely different vibe and I dig it, especially with that hed. This is their international cover:

The domestic @BW ran with Jeremy's punch-flashed portrait of Putin. He has more nice work from that shoot on his site: jeremyliebman.com/vladimir-putin/
If there are other portraits of Putin I'm missing, please let me know. 🙏🏻 -30-

An ominous portrait of Putin by @davidemonteleo for @lemondefr in 2012. Davide told me he was supposed to get time to shoot the portrait, but Putin was upset by a reporter's question and left abruptly. "I asked him twice to look at the camera and he never did, not even blinked!"