Classic Torso with Hands

Ruth Bernhard Archive, Princeton University Art Museum. © Trustees of Princeton University

Currently not on view

Classic Torso with Hands,

1952

Ruth Bernhard, 1905–2006; born Berlin, Germany; died San Francisco, CA
2008-666
By photographing the female body as a still life, Bernhard aimed "to raise, to elevate, to endorse with timeless reverence the image of woman." Her goal for this image, she explained, was to "reveal sculptural mass and the dominating spirit" within the female body. In order to make the viewer focus on the strength and beauty of the female form, Bernhard often cropped or obscured her models’ faces to avoid facial expressions that might result from the interaction between the model and the photographer.

Information

Title
Classic Torso with Hands
Dates

1952

Maker
Ruth Bernhard
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
34 × 26 cm (13 3/8 × 10 1/4 in.) mount: 50.8 x 40.7 cm. (20 x 16 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Ruth Bernhard
Object Number
2008-666
Place Made

North America, United States

Culture
American
Type
photographs, gelatin silver prints, black-and-white photographs
Techniques
gelatin silver process, mounting
Subject
women, hands, torso, nudes, classicism, figures (representations)

By bequest to the Princeton University Art Museum from Ruth Bernhard (1905–2006).

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