[Dance Study]

Adolf de Meyer

ca. 1912 · Platinum print · Photographs

De Meyer photographed the dancer Nijinsky and other members of Diaghilev's troupe when "L'Après-midi d'un Faun" was presented in Paris in 1912. It has been suggested that this photograph, the only nude by de Meyer, has some connection to the Russian ballet, but if so, it remains mysterious. It has been suggested that this photograph, the only nude by de Meyer, has some connection to the Ballets Russes, but the nature of that link remains mysterious. The image vibrates with an uneasy erotic tension, a product of the figure’s exposed torso, startled body language, and disguised identity.

Artist

Adolf de Meyer

Date

ca. 1912

Medium

Platinum print

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949