Nude figure photography
Three women are depicted in this black and white nude figure photography. The composition is constructed in layers. Two foreground torsos frame the third woman. Only the central figure is depicted with a face, shown from head to toe. The closer figures are fractionally visible, with no more than the left or right of their body shown from thigh to shoulder.
The woman on the right extends her arm in front of the body on the left edge.
The central character does not intersect either of the two who frame her. She stands on her toes, her back curved, confidently looking forward.
The composition presents a series of concentric shapes. Each ring of the composition occupies a layer further away from our point of view.
Inner-most of these layers, and the furthest away, is the almost-white negative shape (open space) between the central figure’s torso and her bent arm.
The central figure forms the second shape. The distinct outline of her body is isolated in the design. She is more prominent than the other women. Despite her relative visual size, her distinct presentation allows her to visually dominate the design elements.
The bright light surrounding her is a third layer, this bright circle of light gives way to the fourth layer: the darker background around the central figure.
The final layer is the ring made up of the two foreground figures that merge with all four frame edges. These two figures obscure the entirety of three edges of the image, leaving only the floor open at the bottom to show some depth around the central subject. They reframe the central figure, disrupting the straight edges of the image.
These shapes emphasize the depth between the figures in the foreground and background. However, one can also contemplate this artwork for it’s two-dimensional aspects, observing the figures and spaces between them.
