by Andrea Rosen, Curator of Under the Surface.
Erwin Blumenfeld sought in his experimental photographs to represent the idealized female beauty of his dreams and fantasies. Inspired by the way the old masters coyly rendered nudes “even more naked by their transparent veils,” Blumenfeld often employed props like grids, sheets, or glass barriers, as well as darkroom techniques such as solarization, photomontage, and double-exposure. Blumenfeld had early artistic roots in the Dada movement and eventually made a career as an influential fashion photographer. His nudes, which he considered his most important work, evince the influence of the surrealists he befriended in Paris in the 1930s, particularly Man Ray.
Image details:
Erwin Blumenfeld (American, born Germany, 1897–1969)
Nude Waving Behind Perforated Screen, ca. 1955–1957,
gelatin silver print
Courtesy of Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York