Nude Madonna Photograph to sell between $10-15,000 (£7-10,000)

Already there are about 471 and counting news articles about this one particular auction piece that Christie’s has recently placed in their collection of items for bidding. The photograph is part of a New York auction scheduled for February 12, 2009, which is selling off 150 images from the collection of Leon and Michaela Constantiner – all featuring icons of the early 1990s.

What is most unique about this particular photo of Madonna is that it was taken before her rise to fame, when she was still working as a dancer, barely making ends meet. Madonna merely responded to an ad in a newspaper by photographer Lee Friedlander, who was working on a series of nudes.

The photograph completely strips Madonna of the persona she latered transformed into, as the focal point is Lee Friedlander’s artistic expression concerning the female body. However, it is undeniably recognisable as the Madonna we know in the picture, and since her biography is now so widely understood to the world, this photograph is undeniably one of the most intriguing snapshops of the star.

Reportedly, Madonna was paid $25 (£15) for that one photoshoot. A distinctive contrast to her most recent work, modeling for Louis Vuitton and being paid… well, surely a lot.

• Sources: BBC, Christie’s