Blog #3: Reclining nude

       This piece is title Reclining Female Nude, and with a piece like this I find it difficult to identify the style. It’s is a photograph, a salted paper print. But just because it is a photograph, does that mean it automatically gets classified as realistic? I’m going to say it is realistic, but also I don’t see any flaws with this women’s body, almost looks perfect, that’s what puzzles me. The image supports the idea of an ideal woman; because I see no flaws, smooth skin and healthy body. This image is clearly that of a naked woman, and she appears to be lying on a blanket in the middle of the room.  There is a pillow for support and she is posed in a seductive and affluent way. This is supported by the fact that she is dangling jewelry from her posed hand. “(Often in the nude) a woman’s body is arranged the way it is, to display it to the man looking at the picture. This picture is made to appeal to his sexuality. It has nothing to do with her sexuality” (Berger, 3).  Berger’s ideas definitely apply to this piece because the woman’s body is positioned in a way to appeal to the male viewer and to the artist. Although the woman is looking away you can still get the sense that this naked body is seen as an object to the viewer.