Bill Brandt, Belgravia, London, 1951 In  the 1983 documentary film about his life and work, Sh

Bill Brandt,Belgravia, London, 1951

In  the 1983 documentary film about his life and work, Shadows from Light, Bill Brandt told filmmaker Stephen Dwoskin that the images for which he hoped to be remembered were his nude studies, of which the present photograph is one. The model in Belgravia, London is likely Marjorie Beckett, Brandt’s long-time lover and later second wife. 

Brandt’s photographic explorations from 1945 to 1960 were predominantly conducted through his photographs of nudes. An unlikely inspiration for this work came from the film Citizen Kane (a film which Brandt saw multiple times), specifically the wide-angle cinematography of Gregg Toland.

He told Dwoskin: ‘When Citizen Kane was first shown, I’d never seen a film in which real rooms were used and you could see everything, the ceiling and terrific perspective, it was all there. It was quite revolutionary, Citizen Kane, and I was very much inspired by it and I thought: I must take photographs like that.’

photo and note from Sotheby’s
Catalogue : 175 Masterworks To Celebrate 175 Years Of Photography: Property from Joy of Giving Something Foundation (Sotheby’s, 11-12 Dec. 2014)