Sensique Veil of Surreal

A timeless dance of light and longing. Where the whisper of a bygone era meets the pulse of today.

[gacougnol]

André Steiner (Français, 1901-1978)

Main en mouvement, vers 1938

[gacougnol]

André Steiner (Français, 1901-1978)

Deux femmes, surimpression, vers 1945

[gacougnol]

André Steiner (Français, 1901-1978)

Nu de dos, vers 1940

[gacougnol]

Zoltán Glass (Hungarian, 1903 - 1981)

Reflection, 1959

[theegrandhorizontal]

Helmut Newton

[the1920sinpictures]

1926 Unidentified pretty dancer posed by a mirror. From The Roaring 1920s, FB.

[pad4tosca]

[silkenshadows]

A few weeks ago we had snow, which does not happen often where I live. I had this idea of creating a still life in the snow, despite the cold that caused pain in my hands I had a lot of fun. More from this serie can be viewed on my personal (Dutch) blog.

[classic-hollywood-glam]

Katharine Hepburn

[silkenshadows]

Rare photo serie from 1930. Be sure to check out my blog with many more photos with the same model.

[silkenshadows]

Photography & Montage by Dora Maar, 1934

[dwellthemoods]

It is ok when some moments appear strange

[dwellthemoods]

She looked so serene

[silkenshadows]

Sensual images always catch my eye; everywhere around me, I see sensuality. It is a pleasant feeling, it makes my life more enjoyable, provides small stimulating moments throughout the day, and it gives me confirmation regarding my own sensuality. And I just love to go out and try to capture these hidden treasures with my camera.

[silkenshadows]

Little secrets, exploring sensual stil life photography

[silkenshadows]

Mata Hari The French army invented the spy; Hollywood perfected the myth. Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Jeanne Moreau, Sylvia Kristel, every generation has needed its Mata Hari. Burlesque stages, bondage photographers, fetish artists from John Willie to Eric Stanton to contemporary latex designers all trace a direct line back to those Guimet postcards: the exotic dancer bound in ropes of her own creation, simultaneously victim and manipulator.

What is often forgotten is the survivor beneath the sequins. Every reinvention: Javanese temple dancer, Parisian nude, German agent, French traitor, was an act of desperate adaptation. She was never the master spy of legend, but she may well have known too much about too many powerful men in too many capitals. In the end the accusation mattered less than the convenience of the story.

The Fries Museum exhibition refuses the caricature. It shows the schoolgirl in Friesland, the battered wife in Malang, the ageing courtesan still dancing in 1916 when her knees hurt. And it reminds us that the femme fatale is rarely born; she is made, one calculated risk at a time. Margareth Zelle did not die for treason. She died because a frightened nation needed a witch, and she had spent twenty years teaching the world exactly how seductive a witch could be.

[silkenshadows]

Photographed by Yva / Else Ernestine Neuländer-Simon