The Rodin Nude Photo Project is an ongoing nude study photo project I developed in
communication with several art historians, like Prof. Anne-Marie Bonnet of
the Art-Historical Institute, Bonn, and Cornelia Wieg, Curator for
Sculpture at the Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg, Halle. During a visit to
Paris, I also discussed the project with Hélène Pinet, Curator
for Photography at the Musée Rodin. As a matter of fact,
evaluating this photo project with Museum curators all over the world was the starting point of all later Rodin-Web
activities.
The project was initiated in 1992; the end is
still open.
A summary of past activities:
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Bibiana at
the Musée Rodin making study sketches for our nude photos |
Bibiana in photo atelier with Rodin books
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Inspired by
sculptures and drawings by Auguste Rodin, I produced a series of B/W
photos that were later worked out as gum bichromate prints. The pictures were exhibited
in public exhibitions, among which the international exhibition
"Sculpture in the Light of Photography", organized by the
Wilhelm-Lehmbruck-Museum.
As models, girls and women from various nationalities volunteered, so
exploring their own expression of the erotic. As a sculptor and draftsman,
Rodin was primarily inspired by the spontaneous expression of the female
nude.
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Trying to reconstruct Rodin´s approach of Art and the human body,
we left room for movement and improvisation, instead of attempting to copy
the postures mechanically. In my Munich studio, we used Nikon and Mamiya cameras
and Elinchrome lighting equipment. From the photo negatives, we had B/W
enlargements made, that were retouched and reproduced as large-format
negatives of ca. 30 x 40 cm size. These B/W transpararencies were used to
create colored prints on normal paper sheets, that were covered with
gelatine and then with a solution of arabic gum, various colors and
bichromate.
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Nude study with Julika
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Study for Désespoir,
with Julika
Sculpture in the Light of Photography,
Exhibition 1997
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Since this gum solution is light-sensitive, prints can be made
by exposing the paper plus the negative to direct sunlight. Afterwards,
the exposed paper is "developed" in normal water, for ca. 45
minutes. After the paper has dried, a second and a third exposure are made
with other colors, to emphasize lights and shadows. Sometimes, up to seven exposures have to be made, to
reach the best result. This means, it can take a whole day till one gum
bichromate print is finished. This is the main reason this old artistic
technique, developed in the 19th Century, is now very rarely used. Because every
bichromate print is made by hand, every image is a unique creation.
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Test shooting with Tiphaine
and a Danaid pedestal |
On the
next page you will find a selection of the gum prints that were exhibited at
the Art-Historical Institute of the Bonn University.
Some
images can be enlarged by clicking them.
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Sketch for Danaid pose,
conceived in 1992 |
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Gum print of Danaid pose, realized in 1997 |
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