As the wall label says, “it could as easily be a loft in New York today.” Courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art Another photograph made for other artists’ figure studies shows a clear intent for the photo to stand on its own as a work of art. Courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art This scene, probably not intended for figure studies but still in that same tradition, shows some inherent eroticism poking through the surface.

Courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art The swirling surface marks on both photos, most likely due to dirty glass negatives, add a new, voyeuristic element (what’s that I spy through the silk curtain?) to nude studies probably intended to aid a painter or sculptor. The large glass negative prints are two of the earliest examples of a photo’s technical means of creation (and the imperfections that arise) used intentionally for aesthetic reasons. An unknown French artist circa 1856’s “Standing Female Nude” is one of two new acquisitions that frame the show.

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