Cy Twombly is a favorite of those of us with art history degrees for a reason. His body of work is simultaneously thinky and emotional. It draws you in, but the more you investigate, the more you start to see connections to other art and literature of the period. Twombly once famously said that he would sit thinking for a few hours before making a painting in 15 minutes. 

He didn’t talk much about his work (the word “enigmatic” is often used to describe him), but people in his circle clearly adored him and always mentioned his intellect. If you’ve ever done deep dives on Twombly, you might have noticed that stories about him often featured unusually good photography. 

What I didn’t know at the time was that the person making those photos was often his wife, an Italian Baroness named Tatiana Franchetti, an heiress from a family famous for its art patronage. In addition to being his benefactor, she was an accomplished photographer and artist in her own right. 

The NY Times featured her photography and posted a cache of her photos. You should check them out. Each is excellent. 

More Franchetti’s work. Bastian Gallery , Rosebery’s , 

More on Twombly and Franchetti: Paris Review , On their relationship