Peter Hujar: Catacombs

The artist photographed the Palermo Catacombs during a 1963 trip to Italy with the painter Paul Thek. Hujar’s first monograph, Portraits in Life and Death published in 1976, juxtaposes these images with portraits of writers and artists from his own social circle.

Black and white photograph of a petrified human skeleton
Black and white photograph of a corpse with a skullcap inside a coffin
Black-and-white photograph of preserved shrouded bodies standing above wooden boxes containing children's preserved bodies
Black-and-white photograph of a skull lying amid silk flowers in a glass case
Black-and-white photograph of preserved skeletons dressed in shrouds and gowns in two rows
Black-and-white photograph of a skeleton in a lace dress lying in a glass-fronted box
Black-and-white photograph of a preserved child's body lying in a glass-fronted wooden case with dried flowers
Black-and-white photograph of a preserved child's body lying in a wooden compartment
Black-and-white photograph of a hooded preserved body propped up amid other skeletons in compartments
View all

Related Portfolios

Black and white photograph of a seated dog in the artists studio

Peter Hujar: Animals
A black and white photograph of two people in a car wearing hats and masks, one leans out of the window with a cigarette in their mouth, the other peers in the same direction from the steering wheel

Peter Hujar: Night
Black and white photograph of a female figure in a hospital bed wearing a full face of makeup and arms at their sides underneath white sheet

Peter Hujar: Portraits
Black and white photograph of ocean waves crashing onto the beach

Peter Hujar: Cityscapes & Landscapes