Books of Nudes by Alessandro Bertolotti

Product Details

Synopsis

Alessandro Bertolotti's unrivalled collection of books on nudes, amassed over thirty years, allows us to explore the history of photographic creations, from the first academic snapshots all the way up to the most audacious avant-gardists. Organized chronothematically, and accompanied by sociocultural analyses, this work presents over 160 books, from the celebrated to the obscure, and includes all the photographers who made nudes famous: Germaine Krull, Man Ray, Hans Bellmer, Bill Brandt, Araki, Robert Mapplethorpe, Pierre Molinier, Jean Saudek, and Jean-Loup Sieff.

Each book is presented with its original cover and a selection of photographs laid out on double-page spreads. With over four hundred reproductions, Books of Nudes is an important reference work for every amateur photographer. Paying tribute to the innovative and often ostentatious layout of these publications, this title is also a must-have for anyone passionate about graphic design.

Ronald S. Russ <P>Copyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. - School Library Journal

Photographing nudes is an art that goes back to the late 19th century and is as controversial today as it was then. Bertolotti, one of the largest collectors of erotic books and nude photographs in Europe, has published portraits and photographs of female nudes in various Italian magazines. Here he offers narratives as well as photographs of books containing nude photography that were published between 1895 through 2002. Various countries are represented, including France, Germany, Japan, and the United States, and topics covered include naturism, the Weimar Republic, the sexual revolution, and gay pride. The narratives are helpful in understanding the various photographic movements and the cultures from which they come. Readers will find nudes of all types here, so it might be a contentious purchase depending on your clientele and community. While there are many books on nudes that cover individual topics, few are bibliographic in nature. Therefore, this book is recommended for special libraries with an art or photography focus and university libraries where the subject is studied.

Biography

Born in 1960, Alessandro Bertolotti has worked as a director of variety shows for the Italian television channel Rai for twenty-five years. Passionate about photography, he has published portraits and photographs of female nudes in numerous Italian magazines. He is one of the largest collectors of erotic books and nude photographs in Europe. A portion of his book collection will be exhibited in fall 2007 at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris.