Figure 1: Niccolini. Frames. Date unknown
Figure 2: Niccolini. Hoops. Date unknown
Figure 3: Niccolini. Seated Adonis. 1991
Dianora Niccolini is an Italian fine art photographer whose specialty is the photography of the male nude.
Dianora Niccolini was born in Florence, Italy where the male and female body is celebrated in statues created by Michelangelo, Donatello etc. Many of these statues feature the human body naked. The human form is revered and acknowledged without shame.
Dianora Niccolini shot a series of nudes. Initially, she shot female nudes and then later male nudes. She was revolutionary for her time as she predated Robert Mapplethorpe and his male nudes by several years. In Niccolini’s shots, the male nudes are displayed in a way similar to the statues and figures the ancient Greeks used for their temples. The images show the embodiment of the glory of the male body. The models she used are perfect specimens of the male physique.
She was a pioneer for female photographers. Back in the 1970s, there were not as many opportunities for female photographers as there are today. Niccolini’s work went some way to combating and changing that.
Her work inspires me not only from an aesthetic point of view but also through her pioneering attitude. When researching the male nude, female photographers are still in the minority. Through my current work, I hope to challenge this and make this a more acceptable genre of photography for the contemporary female photographer.
IMAGE SOURCES
Figure 1: photography in the 1970s | Professional Women Photographers Blog. 2017. Pwponline.org[online]. Available at: http://www.pwponline.org/blog/tag/photography-in-the-1970s/ [accessed 10 June 2017].
Figure 2: photography in the 1970s | Professional Women Photographers Blog. 2017. Pwponline.org[online]. Available at: http://www.pwponline.org/blog/tag/photography-in-the-1970s/ [accessed 10 June 2017].
Figure 3: CATRIONA@THEFRASERGALLERY.COM, CATRIONA. 2017. “Three Photographs by Dianora Niccolini”. Thefrasergallery.com [online]. Available at: http://www.thefrasergallery.com/artists/DianoraNiccolini-artwork10.html [accessed 10 June 2017].
Figure 4: NICCOLINI, DIANORA. 2017. “Prices and estimates of works Dianora Niccolini”. Arcadja.com [online]. Available at: http://www.arcadja.com/auctions/en/niccolini_dianora/artist/428415/ [accessed 10 June 2017].
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