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University of Notre Dame
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Nude Study

Date

1909

Creator

Clarence Hudson White

Location

Raclin Murphy Museum of Art

This photograph... features Florence Peterson, identifiable by her physique and her long blonde hair. White made other images of the model in a similar rocky landscape, but nothing so dramatic in its effect. This photograph may have been taken when the artists [Clarence White and F. Holland Day] and model traveled together out of the city. The image is similar to White's photographs of his sons in the dappled forest sunlight in Maine... Here, the romantic figure with her long flowing hair evokes the mythical figure of a dryad or nymph, emerging from the forest as in a vision. Light picks out the shining highlights of the woman's tresses and her round form, bringing her forward from the rocky background. White was an expert with the platinum printing process, which offered rich, saturated black passages describing the rocky background and its shadowed, craggy surfaces. The soft tone also emphasizes not only the comparative delicacy of the human figure, but her vulnerability. The artist pressed the figure into the upper-left quadrant of the composition, accentuating the feeling of her isolation. The artist balanced the inner contour of the reaching figure with an opposing diagonal, described by the thin tree leaning in from the opposite side. These diagonals create a rising chevron that directs the viewer up, away from the dark, threatening void at the bottom of the composition. This photograph also reflects White's continuing interest in the figure in a natural setting. Consciously or not, White has quoted the imagery of numerous old master paintings and prints depicting the tale of Perseus and Andromeda or Roger and Angelica. This ancient myth tells the story of a damsel in distress, chained to the rocky coast to be devoured by a sea monster, and rescued by a triumphant hero. Here, the hanging position of her head and the way she drops her hip and raises one hand above her head, as if shackled to the rock, is parallel to the many representations of the legend. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)

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This photograph... features Florence Peterson, identifiable by her physique and her long blonde hair. White made other images of the model in a similar rocky landscape, but nothing so dramatic in its effect. This photograph may have been taken when the artists [Clarence White and F. Holland Day] and model traveled together out of the city. The image is similar to White's photographs of his sons in the dappled forest sunlight in Maine... Here, the romantic figure with her long flowing hair evokes the mythical figure of a dryad or nymph, emerging from the forest as in a vision. Light picks out the shining highlights of the woman's tresses and her round form, bringing her forward from the rocky background. White was an expert with the platinum printing process, which offered rich, saturated black passages describing the rocky background and its shadowed, craggy surfaces. The soft tone also emphasizes not only the comparative delicacy of the human figure, but her vulnerability. The artist pressed the figure into the upper-left quadrant of the composition, accentuating the feeling of her isolation. The artist balanced the inner contour of the reaching figure with an opposing diagonal, described by the thin tree leaning in from the opposite side. These diagonals create a rising chevron that directs the viewer up, away from the dark, threatening void at the bottom of the composition. This photograph also reflects White's continuing interest in the figure in a natural setting. Consciously or not, White has quoted the imagery of numerous old master paintings and prints depicting the tale of Perseus and Andromeda or Roger and Angelica. This ancient myth tells the story of a damsel in distress, chained to the rocky coast to be devoured by a sea monster, and rescued by a triumphant hero. Here, the hanging position of her head and the way she drops her hip and raises one hand above her head, as if shackled to the rock, is parallel to the many representations of the legend. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)
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  • This photograph... features Florence Peterson, identifiable by her physique and her long blonde hair. White made other images of the model in a similar rocky landscape, but nothing so dramatic in its effect. This photograph may have been taken when the artists [Clarence White and F. Holland Day] and model traveled together out of the city. The image is similar to White's photographs of his sons in the dappled forest sunlight in Maine... Here, the romantic figure with her long flowing hair evokes the mythical figure of a dryad or nymph, emerging from the forest as in a vision. Light picks out the shining highlights of the woman's tresses and her round form, bringing her forward from the rocky background. White was an expert with the platinum printing process, which offered rich, saturated black passages describing the rocky background and its shadowed, craggy surfaces. The soft tone also emphasizes not only the comparative delicacy of the human figure, but her vulnerability. The artist pressed the figure into the upper-left quadrant of the composition, accentuating the feeling of her isolation. The artist balanced the inner contour of the reaching figure with an opposing diagonal, described by the thin tree leaning in from the opposite side. These diagonals create a rising chevron that directs the viewer up, away from the dark, threatening void at the bottom of the composition. This photograph also reflects White's continuing interest in the figure in a natural setting. Consciously or not, White has quoted the imagery of numerous old master paintings and prints depicting the tale of Perseus and Andromeda or Roger and Angelica. This ancient myth tells the story of a damsel in distress, chained to the rocky coast to be devoured by a sea monster, and rescued by a triumphant hero. Here, the hanging position of her head and the way she drops her hip and raises one hand above her head, as if shackled to the rock, is parallel to the many representations of the legend. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)
  • This photograph... features Florence Peterson, identifiable by her physique and her long blonde hair. White made other images of the model in a similar rocky landscape, but nothing so dramatic in its effect. This photograph may have been taken when the artists [Clarence White and F. Holland Day] and model traveled together out of the city. The image is similar to White's photographs of his sons in the dappled forest sunlight in Maine... Here, the romantic figure with her long flowing hair evokes the mythical figure of a dryad or nymph, emerging from the forest as in a vision. Light picks out the shining highlights of the woman's tresses and her round form, bringing her forward from the rocky background. White was an expert with the platinum printing process, which offered rich, saturated black passages describing the rocky background and its shadowed, craggy surfaces. The soft tone also emphasizes not only the comparative delicacy of the human figure, but her vulnerability. The artist pressed the figure into the upper-left quadrant of the composition, accentuating the feeling of her isolation. The artist balanced the inner contour of the reaching figure with an opposing diagonal, described by the thin tree leaning in from the opposite side. These diagonals create a rising chevron that directs the viewer up, away from the dark, threatening void at the bottom of the composition. This photograph also reflects White's continuing interest in the figure in a natural setting. Consciously or not, White has quoted the imagery of numerous old master paintings and prints depicting the tale of Perseus and Andromeda or Roger and Angelica. This ancient myth tells the story of a damsel in distress, chained to the rocky coast to be devoured by a sea monster, and rescued by a triumphant hero. Here, the hanging position of her head and the way she drops her hip and raises one hand above her head, as if shackled to the rock, is parallel to the many representations of the legend. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)
Clarence Hudson White (American, 1871 - 1925)
1909
Photographs
Platinum print
2008.034
cliffs
nudes
rocks
women
woods
Not on view, please request access
9 1/2 x 7 3/8 in. (24.1 x 18.8 cm)
Humana Foundation Endowment

Our collection information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. If you have spotted an error, please contact Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at RMMACollections@nd.edu.