In the Box-Horizontal
Ruth Bernhard
Photography
During most of her life, Ruth Bernhard was interested in depicting the female nude. In this iconic image, one of Bernhard’s most widely recognized and a seminal work of twentieth-century photography, her masterful handling of light and form is put on display. The seemingly sleeping model is framed within a box, emphasizing the horizontal element of the composition and contrasting rectangular regularity with the flow of organic lines. Her left arm breaks away from this constraining enclosure, however, and reaches out of the box in a more comfortable stretch. The play of light and shadow enhances the contours of the body while diffusing the perception of the box, and the body seems to disappear, receding into deep shadows.
MEDIUM
Gelatin silver print
DATES
1962 (printed 1992)
DIMENSIONS
24 x 18 in. (61 x 45.7 cm)
INSCRIPTIONS
Signed below image at left, in graphite: "41/50." Signed below image at right, in graphite: "Ruth Bernhard."
ACCESSION NUMBER
2007.49
CREDIT LINE
Gift from the Estate of Ruth Bernhard
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
EDITION
Edition: 41/50
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