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This is a purely subjective list of the top 13 nudes of all time. The list
is at 13 because I couldn't remove three to make it 10 like I originally
wanted.
Photograph 1
is by Rimantas Dichavicius who shot
Jovita
in the mid 1960s. The leaves framing and covering a portion of the face
and pubic area create beauty and mystery.
Photograph 2
is the first of two
Alexander Baege
photographs on the top 13 list. First of all, this image is toned beautifully.
The model is a dancer and the muscles on her back are plainly visible. The skirt,
sky and sand all work well together. Her body is a monolith in a wasteland.
Photograph 3
is by world renowned filmmaker Russ Meyer. Although he
is known mostly as a film producer, he was an avid photographer. He took a
beautiful series of photographs of his wife Eve for Playboy in June 1955.
Although the photograph is almost too busy, the models body looks great
parallel with the fence and hammock. If you look deeper into the photo, the
top half being the visually active part, is light and the grass on the bottom
is dark making nice overall contrast.
Photograph 4
is of a model sitting on a fence by an unknown photographer.
She is showing enough to be revealing without the image degrading into
banality. From the top of her head to the bottom of her right foot, a line
is created which bisects the photograph diagonally and breaks up any monotony
which otherwise may have existed. Her left leg is the most weighted object in
the photo and draws attention to the pubic area. The many triangles contained
in the image makes the photograph very interesting geometrically.
Photograph 5
is extraordinary. It is almost a perfect perspective shot with
the lines of the clouds and model converging in the upper left. Horace Roye
was a renegade and sometimes controversial photographer who was very adept
technically. The sunlight which emanates from the upper left, strategically
shades the periphery of the model making her an interesting 3D object
instead of flat 2D.
Photograph 6
is by
Arundel Holmes Nicholls
and has everything going for it. The image is greatly overexposed. The light
magically engulfs the model and makes her an integral part of her surroundings.
Photograph 7
is the second photograph on the top 13 by photographer
Alexander Baege.
Simply a great naturist photo on the beach. The heat of the day can almost be
felt just by looking at the photo. The model is beautiful and sports a great
hair cut.
Photograph 8
is a platinum print by master nude photographer Tom
Millea. Tom worked exclusively with platinum photographs for many years
until it adversely affected his health. He loved making platinum prints
for the warm blacks that are imparted to the image. The model
Carrie
is very tribal and animalistic in this pose and this platinum photograph
exploits the warm toned black in a way other mediums typically can not do.
Some photographers gravitate towards certain warm toned French paper to
emulate the same effect as a platinum print.
Photograph 9
is by Edward Weston of his model and eventual wife Charis Wilson. He did a
series of photos in the same place but this particular image is a favorite.
Charis looks like a rag doll haphazardly thrown down into the sand which
created a beautiful shape. Charis looks perfectly comfortable while in this
pose. It is a great all-around image and frequently finds it's way into auction
houses.
Photograph 10
is a
Morris Glassman
masterpiece of 1950s model
Bettie Page.
It is a classic figure model pose but Bettie conveys a power and grace few
other models could duplicate. Her body bisects the photograph plane
diagonally as the second photo does and makes the photo even more dynamic.
Photograph 11
is by an unknown photographer of the German nude model
Ivonne.
Overall it is a great photograph for tone, color and shape. Ivonne was
also in the stage of her career where she was exalting in her stature as a
desired model and celebrating her beauty. The Volkswagen is a nice backdrop.
Photograph 12
is of the beautiful
Stacy Martin
taken by husband Yogi Klein in Hawaii during their 1971 honeymoon. Yogi worked as
an editor for fetish magazines in the late 1950s through the 1960s. I do not think
he was a wizard when it came to photography but all the elements which make a
good photograph are here. Color, position and background all work together.
Some of the better elements are the rail and the shadow it casts. The shadow
also extends Stacy's leg. Stacy shows the importance of having a model who
can project a piece of herself onto the film plane to incorporate with the
photographer's concept or overcome a lack of one.
Photograph 13
is a beautiful photogravure by the photographic team
Bertram Park and Yvonne Gregory. The model is positioned in a perfect Art
Deco style in appearance and spirit. Without any distracting background,
the bold lines and curves of the model create movement.
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