After the war Brandt sought out to document the human body in a surreal and abstract manner, heavily influenced by his mentor, Man Ray. This stage of his work culminated in the publishing of Perspective of Nudes in 1961. The book includes this beautiful photograph, London 1952, which has become one of his most famous nudes and later became the poster image for his V&A Retrospective exhibition in 2004.
“I am not very interested in extraordinary angles. They can be effective on certain occasions, but I do not feel the necessity for them in my own work. Indeed, I feel the simplest approach can often be most effective. A subject placed squarely in the centre of the frame, if attention is not distracted from it by fussy surroundings, has a simple dignity which makes it all the more impressive.”
Bill Brandt