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PAUL OUTERBRIDGE, JR.
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American, 1896-1958 |
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Reclining Nude, circa 1937.
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Carbro color print.
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12¼ x 18⅛ in. (31.1 x 46 cm).
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Estate stamp on the reverse of the mount.
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| ESTIMATE: $ 30,000-50,000 |
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| | | | Provenance
The Estate of Paul Outerbridge, Jr.; With Robert Miller Gallery, New York.
Christie's, New York, April 17, 1997, lot 238.
To the present Private Collection. | | | Exhibition
Robert Miller Gallery, New York, 1978.
Paul Outerbridge, Jr., Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, July 1-September 6, 1987. | | | Literature
Dines, A Singular Aesthetic, 1981, p. 192, fig. 435.
Howe & Hawkins, Paul Outerbridge, Jr., 1980, p. 52.
Heitins, Paul Outerbridge, 1999, p. 143.
Paul Outerbridge Jr.'s most substantial work among the Carbro color prints deals with the female form as his subject. The beauty of this early color process was accentuated by the stark reality of the color range in comparison to the softness of the flesh tones, which were so difficult to achieve. He felt strongly that the female nude was a legitimate subject of artistic expression although the fetishism displayed in his prints was repudiated by the middle class for its explicit sexuality. Outerbridge"s work did, however, sell at high prices to private collectors of the day because it had such a provocative appeal. He was influenced by earlier painters, such as Ingres and Modigliani, who took the classic goddess and painted her as a tangible voluptuous figure. This influence is particularly echoed in Reclining Nude, circa 1937.
Outerbridge had specific ideas as to how to photograph the female form. In Photographing in Color (1940), he states: "The advantages of photographing the nude are few, except as regards to the creation of beauty for itself alone and for aesthetic enjoyment, because nudes have very little, in fact practically no commercial value… As with painting, so with photography to a much greater degree the nude is by far the most difficult of all subjects… The human body is a remarkably plastic thing… The best test of whether a skin is photogenic or not is to photograph it, because it frequently will not photograph as it appears to the eye… Make-up helps, but it should be used sparingly and intelligently… slightly accenting with cold cream the naturally highlighted portions of the body – such as the tops of the breasts, shoulders, arms, thighs, legs – helps to increase the suggestion of roundness and give a certain feeling of life or aliveness to the skin…The nude should be impersonal; a fatal error is to have your model establish a personal or intimate contact with the person viewing the picture. Have a lovely nude model look directly at the camera, especially with a provocative smile or inviting glint, and you have usually crossed the border between the nude and a particular girl without her clothes on. A good nude, as much as possible, should embody a universal concept of feminine beauty, and a great deal of experience with the subject is necessary before one can arrive at much of a result." (Outerbridge, Photographing in Color, pp. 61-67)
In Reclining Nude, circa 1937 the fresh and lifelike Carbro process offers a matte finish in the highlights of the body and a somewhat glossy sheen in the deep shadows offering a feeling of depth, brilliance and a greater actual contrast range. This image is one of his more erotic nudes typifying the neoclassical manner of a full figured woman, with drapes in the background and satin cushions supporting her torso in a decadent manner. He was interested not only in the classic ideal but also the sexuality that photography exhibits in the model's naïve shamelessness.
Approximately two prints of this image are known to exist.
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