Representation of Feminine Nature in Helmut Newton and Lillian Bassman Works - Dissertation Example

This chapter provides a detailed analysis of the works of Helmut Newton and Lillian Bassman and concurrently, compares their vision of females, their way of presenting them, and how it influences the potential viewer. The first chapter of my final analysis will illustrate Helmut Newton’s works, his achievements, and his representation of ‘feminine nature’. The second chapter contains a short biography of Lillian Bassman and an explanation of her photographic techniques and her perception of the female. Finally, the last chapter will sum up all the theories, photographic works, and perceptions as well as compare the common idea of the works shared between the photographers.

The female nude is fashion. A shot in which the form of a woman becomes in its own right a fashion statement. To use not a truly nude image but one in which a woman's body becomes a stylistic choice. This characterization can be said to be representative of the works of Helmut Newton; as well as Lillian Bassman, as exemplified by their work while at Harper's Bazaar.

Bassman in particular was able to not only use her time at the magazine to advance her prospects but is credited to have advanced the careers of other fashion notables, such as Avedon, Fairer, and Frank. (Van Zante, 2010) Her monochromatic style is an art form she shared with Newton, yet others seemed to have found greater value in her Harper's Bazaar career than she; having destroyed 40 years of her negatives and prints when fashion photography became less vogue, (or she perceived it as less vogue).

While less self-destructive, Newton's mark on the magazine also served an inspirational role, which - while less explicit than certain modern artists, he became a gatekeeper or trailblazer whose avant-garde efforts opened the door for others. The imagery Newton brought to the magazine mingled classic images of the female as a vessel for desire, along with an expressive fire kindled by a uniquely female drive, proactive intent - as will be discussed below. A cursory examination of Newton's style will allow for a semblance of the woman as a focal point for incidental beauty, yet with an underlying current of inner strength as revealed by the embrace of the full power of the feminine mystique.