[Female Nude with Mask]

Unknown

ca. 1870 · Albumen silver print from glass negative · Photographs

Even as she seems to part her tresses to expose her naked body, the model here masks her face in an effort to conceal her identity. While drawing, painting, and sculpture of the human figure commonly involve elements of transformation, idealization, or the combination of features from various models, photography usually presents a recognizable image of its subject. It was not uncommon, therefore, for models who routinely posed nude for artists in other media to hide their faces when standing naked before the camera. For the viewer—not always an artist looking for help in figure drawing—the mask added an element of erotic frisson.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1870

Medium

Albumen silver print from glass negative

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005