The Century of the Body: 100 Photoworks 1900-2000

by William A. Ewing (Editor), Daniel Girardin, Christophe Blazer

In the twentieth century the human body was explored, repaired, remodeled, and reinvented in ways that would have amazed previous generations. A major role in this process has been played by photography, which allows us to see the body with new eyes, down to the minutest internal structures. Science and technology are one means of photographically imaging the body and its potential. Art is another, and many of the greatest photographers have taken the body as their subject matter. The Century of the Body presents chronologically one hundred photos that represent all the significant genres of body-centered photography, in both art and science. Anthropology, criminology, physiology, anatomy, medicine, dance, sport, photojournalism, fashion, the nude, body art, and other lesser-known but important fields are featured, each represented by the most innovative photographers of their day. The greats of scientific and technological imagemaking, notably Lennart Nilsson, Pietro Motta, and Ralph Hutchings, are included. So, too, are the leading art photographers of the Alfred Stieglitz, Man Ray, Brassai, Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, Bill Brandt, Lee Friedlander, and Robert Mapplethorpe. The Musee de l'Elysee in Lausanne, one of the world's foremost photography museums, has compiled this extraordinary book to celebrate some of modern photography's finest achievements. Essays by the curators of the museum, including commentaries on every photograph, survey the full range of twentieth-century body-related imagery, focusing on the radical shifts in attitudes to the body that have taken place since 1900. The images, magnificently reproduced in duotone and color, stand as a lasting memorial to the finest photographic artists and scientists of the past one hundred years. 115 photographs in duotone and in color. With contributions Christophe Blaser Nassim Daghighian Daniel Girardin Nathalie Herschdorfer

Genres: Art, Photography

232 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

William A. Ewing is a Canadian art historian specializing in photography. He served as the director of the Musée de l'Élysée in Lausanne from 1996 to 2010 and has been a research professor in the art history department at the University of Geneva, where he has focused on the history of photography. He has curated numerous international exhibitions and authored several books on the photographic representation of the human body. He is also the founder of the Todi Circle, an annual think tank on photography held in Todi, Italy. His publications include The Body, Le Siècle du Corps, and Edward Steichen: Carnet Mondain.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not so much read, as looked at and own - it's a collection of photographs

[Ellison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of over one hundred images B/W and color. Some famous photographers, some bare skin, and some disturbing war photos. Insightful.