Nude #70, 1949–50. Irving Penn (American, born 1917). Courtesy of the artist. ©1950–2002 by Irving Penn.

The photographs on view were made more than fifty years ago when Penn collaborated with several artists' models in a series of intensive sessions in his studio. The women he chose and the ways he viewed them produced nudes that were highly unorthodox by mid-century fashion standards: their fleshy torsos are folded, twisted, and stretched, with extra belly, mounded hips, and puddled breasts. Although charged with powerful physical and sexual energy, the photographs remain somehow chaste.

Philippe de Montebello, director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, commented on the exhibition: "The Metropolitan is proud to be the first museum to present Irving Penn's great nudes to the larger public they deserve. Their voluptuous forms extend a tradition that began with the earliest depictions of the human form, the archaic fertility idols found in sites scattered around the world. Sisters of Titian's and Rubens's Venus, these are among the most ambitious and successful nudes ever made in any medium."

A student and later protegé of legendary art director Alexey Brodovitch, Penn made his name working closely with Alexander Liberman as a contributor to Vogue magazine. His innovative, graphically compelling fashion photography did much to define postwar notions of feminine chic and glamour. Seeking an artistic antidote to the ephemeral, surface world of the ladies' magazines, in the summer of 1949 he began a private series of sittings with artist's models whose earthy physicality offered a refreshing break from fantasy and artifice.

"The 1949–50 series of nudes is Penn's most deeply personal but least known work," commented Maria Morris Hambourg, curator in charge of the Metropolitan's Department of Photographs. "He organized the studio sessions on weekends and holidays, when he had time to indulge his imagination and freely follow the train of his attention. The organic way the photographs emerged, each one evolving from the last and then merging into the next, registering the subtle movement from one position to another, makes them fresh, and although the nudes lack limbs and heads, they seem whole, like fragmented antique torsos resplendent in the light. Just as those sculptures, whatever their identity, represent divinity the goddess, so these nudes, whoever modeled them, represent Woman—the earthly goddesses among us."

Penn's unconcern for conventional views, his monumental concentration on the artistic process, and his supportive relationship with his models—who became true collaborators—are evident in the pictures, which display a somatic ease, an aesthetic rigor, and an erotic warmth that are unusual in combination. The prints, which date from 1949–50, are also exceptional, demonstrating by turns sensual, painterly effects; tactile, sculptural qualities; and exquisite graphic refinements achieved without ever abandoning photographic techniques. Sustained through a complex mélange of expressive means, the great 1949–50 nudes are a mesmerizing marriage of the carnal and the classical.

"Earthly Bodies: Irving Penn's Nudes, 1949–50" was organized by Maria Morris Hambourg, who has also written the accompanying catalogue of the same title, published by Bulfinch Press, a division of Little Brown and Company, Boston, New York, and London. The publication is available in the Museum's bookshop and in the online Met Store.

The design of the exhibition is by Michael Langley, exhibition designer, with graphics by Barbara Weiss, graphic designer, and lighting by Zack Zanolli, lighting designer.

The Metropolitan has organized a variety of educational programs in conjunction with the exhibition. Please consult the online calendar for a complete list organized by date.

After it is presented at the Metropolitan, the exhibition is on view at the Art Institute of Chicago from June 1 through October 6, 2002 and at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from March 22 through July 27, 2003.

A selection of Irving Penn's more recent nudes is on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art from January 12 through May 12, 2002. This exhibition, "Dancer: 1999 Nudes by Irving Penn," was co-organized by the Whitney Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.