We don’t have an image of this object online yet. V&A Images may have a photograph that we can’t show online, but it may be possible to supply one to you. Email us at vaimages@vam.ac.uk for guidance about fees and timescales, quoting the accession number: E.877-2014
Find out about our images

Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case X, Shelf 913, Box O

Nu de dos

Photograph
c.1931-4 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Hungarian-born photographer Brassaï is perhaps best known for photographs of Paris, in which he documented the streets, architecture, society and nightlife of the city during the inter-war years. His photographs caught the attention of André Breton and the Surrealists, which led to a ten year association with the group; although, Brassaï was careful to never call himself a Surrealist and maintained that his photographs were objective.

Over 150 of Brassaï’s photographs were published in the Surrealist journal 'Le Minotaure' – mostly female nudes that he made in the early 1930s. These nudes are characterised by the cropping of heads and limbs, with the camera frame focussing on the torso. The bodies are truncated, often distorted, as individuality is reduced in favour of exploring the corporeal. The figures become transformative, morphing into phalluses, violins and abstract compositions, and suspended in space with a dreamlike quality. Whilst Brassaï never accepted himself as a Surrealist nor referenced them when writing about his work, these photographs speak to the Surrealist concern with the line between the conscious and the subconscious, and to the theories of Freud, a psychoanalyst prominent in Surrealist theory.


Object details

Category
Object type
Titles
  • Nu de dos (generic title)
  • Nu 86 (assigned by artist)
  • Torse [torso] (published title)
Materials and techniques
Gelatin silver print
Brief description
Photograph by Brassaï, 'Nu de dos' [Nude from behind] or 'Nu 86' [Nude 86], c.1931-34, gelatin silver print
Physical description
Black and white photograph of a seated nude woman, taken from behind. Her arms are not visible and her head is cropped so that we can only see her neck and the base of her bob haircut.
Dimensions
  • Image width: 21cm (Note: image and sheet are the same size)
  • Image height: 29cm (Note: image and sheet are the same size)
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
Verso: Top centre, pencil: '20,5 x 28,5' Top right, pencil: 'Nu. 86 fc 32' Top right, pencil: 'Brassaï' Top right, red ink: '1)' Top right, stamped in black ink [faded]: 'SUCCESSION / BRASSAÏ / ESTATE' Centre, black ink: 'Nu 86'
Credit line
Bequest of Gilberte Boyer Brassaï
Object history
This object came to the museum as part of a bequest of 99 photographs by Brassaï from his widow, Madame Gilberte Boyer.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Hungarian-born photographer Brassaï is perhaps best known for photographs of Paris, in which he documented the streets, architecture, society and nightlife of the city during the inter-war years. His photographs caught the attention of André Breton and the Surrealists, which led to a ten year association with the group; although, Brassaï was careful to never call himself a Surrealist and maintained that his photographs were objective.

Over 150 of Brassaï’s photographs were published in the Surrealist journal 'Le Minotaure' – mostly female nudes that he made in the early 1930s. These nudes are characterised by the cropping of heads and limbs, with the camera frame focussing on the torso. The bodies are truncated, often distorted, as individuality is reduced in favour of exploring the corporeal. The figures become transformative, morphing into phalluses, violins and abstract compositions, and suspended in space with a dreamlike quality. Whilst Brassaï never accepted himself as a Surrealist nor referenced them when writing about his work, these photographs speak to the Surrealist concern with the line between the conscious and the subconscious, and to the theories of Freud, a psychoanalyst prominent in Surrealist theory.
Bibliographic reference
Brassaï, 1899-1984 (sale catalogue), Paris, France: Drouot-Montaigne, 2006, p124
Collection
Accession number
E.877-2014

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdApril 15, 2015
Record URL
Download as: JSON