David Hockney, Duane Michaels, Herbert List, George Platt Lynes or Robert Mapplethorpe. The anthology The Male Nude by Taschen compiles a series of photos with heightened sensuality, made by the top artists, from the 19th century to the contemporary era.
The male nude, long the subject of controversy
While the female nude is constantly on display in art and occupies a prominent place in Western iconography, the male nude was, for a long time, taboo and controversial, and eventually censored. Taschen pays homage to the nude male form with an exceptional work, which highlights the first photos of homoerotic nudes taken by Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden, whose leitmotif was to stage young ephebes in poses inspired by ancient art, in Sicily. From provocation haloed with a touch of mischief and poetry, The Male Nude contains compositions and works by other exceptional masters, as well as illustrations from the iconic Physique Pictorial, a pioneer magazine, now iconic, of the 1950s gay scene.
