[Female Nude with Mask]

Unknown

Not on view

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.

[Female Nude with Mask], Unknown (French), Albumen silver print from glass negative

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.