Victoriya A ‘Ekeini‘ by Egon Schneider
I must admit, it took a while for this Met Art gallery — and this model — to grow on me. This has happened to me enough in the past that I now welcome this initial reaction, because it most often means that I’ll end up with a deeper appreciation for the series — and its subject — once I’ve come to fully understand it.
The setting — a bedroom or perhaps a luxe hotel room — is pleasant enough, with a neutral color scheme. Egon Schneider‘s approach is direct and free of drama or frills — no fancy lighting, no experimental technique, just well-crafted photography.
The model, Victoriya A, first struck me as simply a young, girl next door type. This initial impression — or, truthfully, this misjudgment — was the biggest (self-inflicted) obstacle to my full appreciation of “Ekeini.” Yes, Victoriya can appear to be a typical, 19-year-old girl next door. But that’s just one look of many this model is capable of. And the more I looked, the more I began to realize just how variable her expression and appearance can be. Victoriya A has a real gift for projecting a wide variety of moods and emotions. She’s a young innocent one moment, and the next she’s a sultry, seasoned siren.
As I marveled at each chameleonic shift in Victoriya A‘s on-camera personality, I finally came to understand what a rich, varied, engaging, and entertaining performance this is. And Schneider’s workmanlike style never overpowers his subject, indeed the subtlety of his approach lets Victoriya’s beauty and ability blossom over the course of a particularly generous 143 images.
I don’t care much for the costume, but that doesn’t matter — it comes off quickly and returns for a handful of playful images at the end of the set. Once Victoriya is nude we enjoy as she experiments with poses, attitudes, and emotions. She’s thoughtful (#009 or #046), she’s warmly seductive (#074), she’s confident and composed (#075), and she’s irresistibly cute (#069) — sexy, alluring, sultry, playful, the list goes on.
Schneider gets complete coverage. We’re provided with sensitive, moody headshots, formal poses and compositions, and many explicit images. Not only do we get to experience the variable personality of this versatile vixen in “Ekeini,” we also savor her physical attributes in comprehensive detail. A very satisfying effort by model and artist, alike.
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Art Nude Models: Met Art information.
