The last century saw an astonishing acceleration in the understanding of the human form: the body has been explored, repaired, remodelled and reinvented in ways that would have amazed previous generations, processes in which photography played a major role.

This book presents one hundred of the finest and most intriguing examples of body-centred photography from the last century. All the major art photographers, among them Stieglitz, Man Ray, Brassaï, Imogen Cunningham, Brandt and Mapplethorpe, are represented, as are the greats of scientific image-making – notably Lennart Nilsson and Ralph T. Hutchings – and such well-known Body Artists as Claude Cahun and Carolee Schneemann.

A full commentary on each picture is provided, and an introduction by William A. Ewing discusses the development of body photography through the century, focusing on the issues that have made this subject important and controversial.