Male Nude (c. 1870–75): Art, History and Details

Male Nude (c. 1870–75) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Guglielmo Marconi (French, 1842–after 1885).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Guglielmo Marconi specialized in nude studies for use by painters and sculptors. Using children, women, and men as models, he photographed a variety of poses traditionally employed by models in academic studios. Artists purchased them because working from a photograph was much cheaper than hiring a live model.

Object facts

• Title: Male Nude
• Date: c. 1870–75
• Creator attribution: Guglielmo Marconi (French, 1842–after 1885)
• Culture: France, 19th century
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: albumen print from wet collodion negative
• Dimensions: Image: 27.2 x 18.8 cm (10 11/16 x 7 3/8 in.); Matted: 55.9 x 45.7 cm (22 x 18 in.)
• Collection: PH - French 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 1996.357

A detail from the museum

This photograph illustrates the developing close association in the late 1800s between photographers and artists.

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.