The Prayer

The great themes of the art movement Surrealism intersect in Man Ray's photograph: a strange, unexpected composition; a fascination with sex and female beauty; and playful irreverence. The model is unknown, but she was probably Man Ray's lover, the American photographer Lee Miller. Disembodied and fragmented, her identity is reduced to buttocks, hands, and feet. The fingers are brought up, crossed, blocking an indecent view. It is a false modesty, as the greater part of her nude posterior is still visible. The mysterious quality of the photograph is amplified by contrasting darks and lights, which help to obscure the contours of the subject's body. At the same time, the rich, inky blacks of the print heighten its appeal. The picture was evidently posed in the studio, imitating the conventions of advertising photography. The fine line between person, object, and commodity was one of Man Ray's preoccupations.