Naakte man die zijn arm uitstrekt before 1895

This is Albert Londe's photographic study, *Naakte man die zijn arm uitstrekt*. Likely created in the late 19th century in France, it embodies the era's fascination with capturing movement through emerging photographic techniques. Londe, working within the context of scientific exploration, dissected human motion into discrete phases. But what does it mean to see a nude male figure captured not in a moment of heroic action, but suspended in the midst of an ordinary gesture? The man’s body is presented to us as an object of study, stripped bare, catalogued. It echoes both the scientific gaze and the long shadow of colonialism in which bodies were classified and dissected to reinforce ideas about race, gender, and ability. Consider the emotional weight of this figure. The image invites us to reflect on the power structures embedded in how we view and document one another. It captures an enduring tension between art, science, and the human experience.