The Naked and the Veiled “The Photographic Nudes of Blumenfeld”

Blumenfeld found fame as a fashion photographer, but he always considered his nudes to be his best and most important work. As a man he was fascinated by the female form. As an artist he worked endlessly to perfect techniques that would express his fascination.
Enchanted as an adolescent by the nudes of Memling, Botticelli and Cranach, Blumenfeld dreamed of using photography to equal the Great Masters, and when he persuaded a customer to pose for him at his leather goods shop in Amsterdam, it marked the beginning of a lifelong obsession.
The Naked and the Veiled spans Blumenfeld’s whole career from 1930s Amsterdam to 1960s New York, in chapters divided thematically into natural, surrealist, erotic, art-inspired and natural American nudes. The beautifully reproduced photographs have been selected by Blumenfeld’s son Yorick, who also contributes an informative text. They represent the peak of Blumenfeld’s achievement and a unique episode in the history of photography.