NATASSJA KINSKI

Richard Avedon (1923-2004) :: Nastassja Kinski and the Serpent, June 14, 1981. Model and actress Nastassja Kinski wrapped in a boa constrictor for Vogue Magazine. 

“It’s worth noting that the title, Nastassja and the Serpent, carries a distinct echo of an Old Master mythological painting – quietly playing with the tradition, famously observed by John Berger his 1971 essay Ways of Seeing, of the history of art as ‘men [looking] at women’ while ‘women watch themselves being looked at’. Even if the subtleties of this were likely lost on its largely male, heterosexual fanbase, in Avedon and Kinski’s subversive take on this image type, the female subject is in control – not just behind the scenes, but visibly in the end product.” Quoted from AnOther / 

The Story behind the Image

I have been looking at pictures of Natassja Kinski recently and she is undoubtedly a beautiful woman from a youngster to the present day. I most enjoyed her work in 'Paris Texas' and Polanski's 'Tess' but also the much underrated Francis Ford Coppola's 'This One's From The Heart' opposite Tom Waits. She has troubled me for I recall reading about her sister (half sister really ) being abused by their father Klaus Kinski but she denied that he had abused her sexually but admitted later he abused her mentally and that she 'was glad he was dead' that she would have done anything she could to have him sent to prison were he still alive which is about as damning as it gets. She also leapt to Roman Polankis defence when it was rumoured she had a sexual relationship with the film director when he was 43 and she was 15 during the filming for Tess. She stated categorically that he was a true trusted friend and mentor 

"There was flirtation. There could have been a seduction, but there was not. He had respect for me."

On her father . . . . 

"He was no father. 99 percent of the time I was terrified of him. He was so unpredictable that the family lived in constant terror." When asked what she would say to him now, if she had the chance, she replied: "I would do anything to put him behind bars for life. I am glad he is no longer alive."

I find this troubling in the extreme and have strong views upon everyone's childhood being safe and a place of total innocence, magic and a safe haven from all the monsters of the world and not for parents to become one!