High Heeled Boot by Karl Lagerfeld, Monte Carlo

Fashion photographer Helmut Newton, who photographed for many magazines including "Vogue," "Elle," "Queen," "Stern," and "Playboy," created provocative, voyeuristic images that infused glamour with edgy overtones of danger and violence.  His X-ray image of a foot in a high-heeled, buckled boot is a witty comment on the pain that women are willing to endure to appear sexy and attractive.

Helmut Newton, who was born in Germany and was based for many years in Paris, became well known in the 1970s for images that convey a provocative, voyeuristic objectification of women. Here he uses the X-ray, a tool generally associated with medical examinations, to make this rendering of a high-heeled buckled boot. Through the X-ray, the photographer creates an eye-catching representation and a seemingly clinical, as well as sardonic, comment on the lengths to which women are willing to go to appear alluring.