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Derrick Cross

Robert Mapplethorpe

Photography

Robert Mapplethorpe’s photographs of the male nude—painstakingly composed and exquisitely lit—carry an undeniable sensual charge that some found discomforting when the images were first exhibited and published. In Male Nude (Neck to Knees), the dramatic cropping out of the head removes from our view the man’s face, and forces us to concentrate on the rest of the body, yet the calculated formality of the pose can seem almost academic—a modern figure study.
MEDIUM print
DATES 1982
DIMENSIONS image: 15 1/4 x 15 1/4 in. (38.7 x 38.7 cm) sheet: 19 3/4 x 15 3/4 in. (50.2 x 40 cm)  (show scale)
SIGNATURE Signed lower right in black ink: "Robert Mapplethorpe '82"
INSCRIPTIONS Lower left in black ink: "For Derrick"
COLLECTIONS Photography
ACCESSION NUMBER 1989.30.36
CREDIT LINE Anonymous gift in memory of Jack Boulton
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Robert Mapplethorpe (American, 1946–1989). Derrick Cross, 1982. print, image: 15 1/4 x 15 1/4 in. (38.7 x 38.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Anonymous gift in memory of Jack Boulton, 1989.30.36. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.1989.30.36_detail2.jpg)
IMAGE mark, CUR.1989.30.36_detail2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT © artist or artist's estate
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