The Nude Portrait

category a.1) sitting, hands in lap



1. Matteo Montanari
2. Alasdair McLellan
3. Johnny Angel by Pat Milo, 1960s

category a.2) lying, body twisted

1. Karl Lagerfeld
2. Willy Vanderperre
3. Cody Chandler

category a.3) standing, side view

1. Alasdair McLellan
2. Sølve Sundsbø
3. Herb Ritts

category b) back view, arms flexing

1-3. Robert Mapplethorpe

category c.1) standing, left arm up

1. David by Michelangelo, 1501-1504
2. David Gandy by Mariano Vivanco
3. Tony Ward by Mariano Vivanco

category c.2) frontal, arms (almost) down



1. Alasdair McLellan
2. Bruce Weber
3. Iggy Pop by Gerard Malanga, 1971

When does a portrait define as a nude portrait? Category a) reveals nothing at all, category b) features a bare butt cheek, while categgory c) reveals primary sexual characteristics. Covered or full frontal, all images provoke the illusion of touch. One criterion for the nude portrait.
/HORST

The Body

Acne Paper Issue Nº 13

Sometimes it is fairly enough to judge a book by its cover. And a man by its outer appearance. The superelevated, superficial surface we all seek, aspire and adore. Allowing comparison of one's projected and actual 'self'.
/HORST

Slit II

1. Karim Sadli
2. Dior Homme Spring/Summer 2011 Backstage

It has only been lately that I've realized the beauty of a male torso's side. A view that is rarely being shared or descried. Therefore, I kindly solicit its more frequent appearance.
/HORST

Body Modification

1. Hedi Slimane Diary
2. Unknown
3. Death Becomes Her

By the way: What happened to implants? A topic that dominated my late teenage talkshow afternoons. The mainstream has mutated its principle into contraception. But what is its current status in subculture?
/HORST

Petrarca's Heir II

Artworks Keith Farqhar

Torso sculptures. Obviously carrying the traces of weather conditions. Seemingly being torso sculptures. In fact, they are flat cardboard cutouts. Mounted on cubic pedestals.
/HORST

Petrarca's Heir

Photos Alex Rank

Neither authentic nor artificial. Neither human nor sculpture. Skin as perfect and sleek as marble. No hair, no flaw, no beauty mark. So close and yet so distant. So real and yet so staged.
/HORST

Still Life, Still

1. Marble and glass vases, white Maison Martin Margiela box
2. Porcelain deer, Fantastic Man perfume and fleur de sel
3. Fluorescent sunglasses, Prada case, white paper coffee cup

The reduction of myself as an object.
/HORST

Nudist Camp II

1. Hussein Chalayan Spring/Summer 1998
2. Vanessa Beecroft
3. Unknown

The best way of starting the day is being nude.
/HORST

Hero Worship

Part 15: Rudolf Nureyev




Photos Unknown, Richard Avedon

Supposedly the best male ballet dancer of the 20th century, his bare athletic perfection has been impressively documented by the aesthete Avedon. A manifest memento of what we aspire.
/HORST

Bodies Of Decadence

1. Tony Ward by James Armstrong, 1982
2. Mary Katrantzou Spring/Summer 2011

A young Tony Ward's well-defined exterior. And a young Mary Katrantzou's trompe l'œil interior dresses. Pretty surfaces that offer intricate yet delicate insights. Come in and find out.
/HORST

Naked Power Yoga

That's what we've all been waiting for: a naked power yoga DVD. Peter Breen might not have won our Ugly Underwear Contest but he prefers to wear nothing at all anyway. And his latest piece of work concedes his point.
/HORST