The art of nude // L’Arte del Nudo

From 26/06/2021 To 31/07/2021

On display is a selection of over 80 photographs made using all the techniques of analogue photography. From vintage photography by names such as Bert Stern, Jeanloup Sieff and others, to contemporary photographers represented by the gallery.

"The Art of the Nude", the title of the exhibition should give us pause for thought. The art of the photography took over the nude right from the start, just like the portrait. As if to say, it developed its own language referring to nudity when it was just born, obviously starting from a classical sphere, in poses and style. It was painters who took advantage of still images, as they would have done in front of a real model.

Hence the merit of the exhibition we are going to see. Although it is a look at the genre from 1950 to the present day, it refers to the technologies used, sometimes far removed from the temporal context, but useful for understanding the artist's way of seeing.

The history of photography has taught us other things. With the advent of the film, and after the diffusion of the tool, the still image dealt with the social and behavioural spheres. So here we have pin-ups, emancipated women, sexual freedom, and even pornography: a simple declination of the nude proposal.

Obviously, within the genre we can recognise the 'greats', those who were able to express their personalities through the nude. Weston and Newton are among them, but also Sieff and many others. They drew from the shot the cardinal element of photography: the relationship with the subject, without which the click can produce nothing. Finally, we can say, with their help we were able to recognise the author, his approach to the subject, the angle of view. And "The art of the nude" offers us a good range of authors, all distinguished by respect for the shot and an approach made up of a before and after, as an idea or project. We have the study of forms and the woman who proposes herself, saying "I exist". What is missing in the exhibition (fortunately) is glamour, the nude that takes on other meanings, where sterile aesthetics take on meaning.

Finally, it is nice to consider the time span of what we will see. Starting from the 1950s and arriving at today means examining a complicated, fast, different historical moment, where time itself has become the enemy of art and the way it expresses itself. Social changes have been incessant, sometimes ambiguous and contradictory, without forgetting the aftermath of the world conflict, which has forced many authors to look inside themselves.

At the Fine Art Image Gallery we will be able to observe the changes in the gazes of many authors in a historical and technological parallel, precisely on the nude: the genre in which the author-subject relationship lives on in disparate areas, as in all photography. Visiting the exhibition will be useful for all of us: we will be able to look better and understand what to observe, even if we open our home windows.

Text Courtesy Mosè Franchi

The formats of the works range from 6.5 cm to 120 cm, from one-offs to numbered or open editions.
It will be possible to purchase the exhibited works with multiple certification.