Accession Number
1971/2.132

Title
Nude

Artist(s)
Edward Weston

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1934, printed 1970-71

Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper

Dimensions
3 1/2 in x 4 1/2 in (8.89 cm x 11.43 cm);13 5/16 in x 14 15/16 in (33.81 cm x 37.94 cm);14 5/16 in x 19 1/4 in (36.35 cm x 48.89 cm)

Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by a gift from Photography students of the Art Department and Professors Philip Davis, David Reider, and Chauncey Korten, through the Friends of the Museum of Art

Label copy
Weston's model for this study of the female form was Charis Wilson, whom he later married. By hiding his sitter's face, Weston makes the viewer focus on the formal arrangement of the limbs and the sensuous contours of the body.

Subject matter
In this photograph, a female nude poses in a way that creates a rectangular form of interlocking limbs which curve and meet in sensuous shapes. Her face is concealed, which focuses attention on the abstract qualities of the body. Small details as the part in her hair, tresses resting on her shoulder and soft leg hair provide a sense of the individual. The model is Charis Wilson, whom Weston married in 1931. She became integral to his life and work as a muse and partner. She wrote his Guggenheim application, which he was awarded in 1937, notably as the first photographer recipient.

Physical Description
Female nude seated with legs crossed, knee up, face hidden in arm.

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Collection Area
Photography

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
modern and contemporary art
nudes
nudes (representations)
seated
sitting
women (female humans)