Historical Photographer- Thomas Eakins

Biography
Birthdate: July 25, 1844
Birthplace: Philadelphia
Education: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts to study art and Jefferson Medical College to study anatomy. He also had about 3 years of schooling in Paris.


Significance
Eakins is most known for his portraiture in both photography and painting. He used photography to study the human body, which he used to help him paint. Due to the controversies surrounding nude modeling and nude portraiture/art forms during Eakins' time,  he was subject to negative ideas of what his work was about. Eakins did not have a problem being undressed in front of female students or photographing his students nude. This was not an idea that was well adapted by society and resulted in Eakins losing his job because of it.


Composition
Eakins photographs have dramatic lighting which puts emphasis on the shadows that define the muscles of the body. Also, his images do not focus on the background, but rather the human body using contrast by placing the body in front of a dark background, or eliminating a lot of distracting background objects. Also, if you look closely, a lot of the photographs were taken in a studio/classroom, which further shows how Eakins used the photographs for teaching/observation.


Method
Eakins used a wooden view camera, glass plates negatives, and the platinum print processes. He used the camera and his photography as a teaching tool for drawing/painting. He did this to provide a tool that would reveal what was actually in front of him; observations of pose and gesture. 


Motivations
As I was reading, I found it interesting that a lot of Eakins' work was of nude models. At the time that he was studying/working, nude models for art classes were rare. Most of the people that modeled were men because the women that modeled were often lower class and heavy set. It was hard to find young beautiful women to model. 


Opinion
I like that Eakins used a combination of art and science (anatomy studies) in his work. In hopes of being a medical illustrator, it's interesting to learn about how artists used to study the human body and how that has changed science and art.