The Male Nude (Taschen 25)

David Leddick's The Male Nude is an almost 800-page survey of the nude male in photography of the past century that presents us with the changes in body type, beauty, and sexual affect that have occurred over the past 100 years, but with evolving notions of "art" and "culture" as well. From Victorian prints of strong men to the "health" photos of the 1940s and '50s to the works of contemporary artists such as Mapplethorpe, Bruce Weber, and Nan Goldin, David Leddick charts the evolutions that the male body--and gay culture--have taken for ten decades. --Michael Bronski

Product Description
For anyone who worships the male body or wants to know why others do (TASCHEN's 25th anniversary special edition) While the female nude has long played a concpicuous role in western iconography, the male nude has not always enjoyed such adoration. This collection provides an overdue review of material that at one time could only be bought under the counter, beginning with the anonymous erotica of the 19th century. It features the pioneer homoerotic nude photographs of Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden, posing nude youths in classical postures at Taormina in Sicily. It includes illustrations from groundbreaking magazines such as Physique Pictorial, the leading organ of the mid-50s gay scene, and it covers the entire range from classic masters of male nude photography, such as Herbert List, George Platt Lynes or Robert Mapplethorpe, to the pin-up beefcake of the sex magazines.

This little volume is beautifully printed and extremely well-priced.


Did nothing for this straight woman   January 22, 2003
 9 out of 20 found this review helpful

I must agree with the reviewer who stated that this book had a gay tilt to it. That's perfectly fine if that's your cup of tea, and I'm glad that gay men have books such as these to choose from. I prefer something with just photos of nude men by themselves. I guess I'll continue my search for such a book. I'm disappointed that there is so little out there for heterosexual women like me.


Not what I expected   December 28, 2002
 7 out of 17 found this review helpful

How could it not be, right? It's called 'Male Nude'. Well there are many nude men within its pages, but nothing I found spectacular or new in approach. It seemed this book was done with a gay tilt to it as well, which is fine if that's what one is looking for. Several of the images are of men together, hugging, admiring, etc. I hoped for more nudes on their own, instead of images provoking what happened before or what will happen after the photo was taken. Regardless, there are some nice physiques here, and the book is laid out in chronological order from the 1900s up to present day. The past pictures were intersting to see, but this isn't something I keep precious in my collection.


Good General History of an Artform   June 4, 2002
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

There isn't much else I can say that I didn't cover in the title of my review. This is a good collection of photographs divided into time periods, each of which is given a brief essay introduction by Leddick. Leddick, while not a brilliant art historian, is the best I've found on this controversial and often overlooked artform.