Getting Naked

“Reclining Female Nude”, 1853, B&W print by Julien Vallon de Villeneuve

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s selection of about ninety nudes from its outstanding permanent collection explores the meanings and motivations of the photographic nude in broad cultural context, from its origins in the mid-1800s to the present.  Running through September 9, 2012, “Naked Before The Camera”, features a large representation of classically inspired early works, especially from France, where Victorian propriety did NOT reign.  Prints such as Julien Vallou de Villeneuve’s “Reclining Female Nude” recall paintings like Courbet’s odalisque, “Woman with a Parrot”.

“Male Torso”, 1930 print by Man Ray

In fact, many early nude portraits were intended as “studies” for anatomy, forensics, movement and ethnography, as well as for art in its own right, and the exhibit demonstrates this range well.

“Introductions at Suzy’s”, 1933, print by Brassai

By contrast, 20^th century photographers used the nude to explore ideas and movements ranging from Surrealism to Feminism.  Works from modern masters like Irving Penn, Harry Callahan, Emmet Gowin and Garry Winogrand are alone worth a visit.  Pieces such as Man Ray’s solarized male torso, Brassai’s brothel, Weston’s sensual nude on a sand dune, and Mapplethorpe’s intense portrait of a coiled Patti Smith explore the human form in myriad ways.

“Nude on Sand, Oceano”, 1936 print by Edward Weston

Either explicit or implicit in each work is a sexual tension that always results from baring the individual to the camera.  We simultaneously view the “other” and recognize ourselves – depicted here figuratively, abstractly, grotesquely and erotically.  This show is worth seeing.

“Patti Smith”, 1976 print by Robert Mapplethorpe