We’re thrilled to introduce Caitlin Clancy as this week’s guest blogger! Caitlin is the owner and founder of Classical Pilates with Caitlin, a Brookline, MA-based studio that also offers virtual lessons. With certifications from U.S. Pilates LLC, Balanced Body, and the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA), Caitlin is deeply committed to helping her students, from true beginners to seasoned instructors, rebuild their mind-body connection through Pilates. Her approach focuses on whole-body strength, balance, and flexibility, guiding each student to experience the harmony of movement with a personalized touch, whether online or in person. Check out her studio here!
And don’t miss Caitlin’s other guest-blog: The Untold Art History of Gratz Pilates Equipment.
The Photographer Who Captured Pilates’ Legacy
You might be wondering what the photo to the right is all about and what it has to do with Joseph Pilates and his exercise method. For fun, I’m focusing today’s blog on this photograph and its fascinating connection to Mr. Pilates himself.
The photograph, with the two figures looking out at the horizon, is considered among the most iconic fashion photographs from the 20th century. The Divers was selected by Anna Wintour as one of her five favorite Vogue images from the magazine’s long history. The Divers which was published in Vogue on July 5, 1930.
The Unexpected Connection to Joseph Pilates
The Divers is elegant and handsome at the same time! The figures are statuesque, like classical Greek sculptures. No wonder Joseph Pilates chose this photographer! The composition radiates from the center and is nearly symmetrical. The soft oozy light envelopes the two figures and then reaches into the horizon. Totally Gorgeous!
Curiously enough, as mentioned, there is a connection between this photographer and Joseph Pilates.
In 1945, Joseph Pilates published his second book, and most influential work, Return to Life through Contrology with the help of co-writer William John Miller. The book is broken down into two sections. The first written section is Pilates’ worldview and philosophy of his method which he named “Contrology.” Part two of the book has each of thirty-four mat exercises described with four accompanying photos and step by step instructions on how to execute the particular exercise.
Pilates and Miller hired fashion photographer George Hoyningen-Huene to take the photos of Pilates himself performing each mat exercise. To note, Joseph Pilates was 62 years old at the time of this photoshoot and he looked like a Greek sculpture. It is no wonder that he chose Hoyningen-Huene!
The Impact of Hoyningen-Huene’s Photography in Pilates
To me, the most striking aspect of Return to Life through Contrology are the photographs. Each photograph is simple and straightforward. In the book, the four sequential photographs one after the other helps the reader visualize the clean execution of each mat exercise. (As Viola Farber, the Director of the Modern Dance Program I was in, said, “there is no such thing as a transition.”) Like the principals of the Pilates method, the photos are centered, precise, and yet have visual dynamism. Joseph Pilates looks alive! You can sense his energy radiating through the still image.
The Life and Legacy of George Hoyningen-Huene
George Hoyningen-Huene was a famous fashion photographer. Born in St Petersburg, Russia in 1900, he passed away in Los Angeles, California in 1968. Hoyningen-Huene’s career as a photographer took off in Paris in the 1930s when he became the Chief Photographer at Condé Nast’s French Vogue. However, prior to this time, at the start of his career working as an illustrator and photographer’s assistant, Hoyningen-Huene gravitated towards the creative circles of Paris of the 1920s. In 1924, Hoyningen-Huene collaborated with Surrealist Photographer Man Ray on a project to create a portfolio of fashion photographs. His circle of friends and artist colleagues included Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Paul Éluard, Jean Cocteau and Coco Chanel.
The Store Behind The Divers
Looking back at “The Divers” I read an interesting anecdote about how this photograph was shot.
To quote the Sotheby’s website- here is a description of how this photograph came to be:
“The Divers is an invitation to travel and serenity, and what seems to be a couple sitting on a diving board facing the ocean and the horizon is made up of a stack of boxes on the roof of Vogue’s Paris studio. The perfectly quiet horizon line is in fact the top of the wall surrounding the building, separating the sitters from the buzzing Champs-Elysées.”
About the author:
Caitlin was introduced to Pilates in the early 1990s, started teaching in 2016, and founded her own brick and mortar studio, Classical Pilates with Caitlin in 2023.
Caitlin is certified by U.S. Pilates LLC through the Classical Pilates USA Teacher Certification Program, the Balanced Body Comprehensive Pilates Instructor Certification, and the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) certification.
Caitlin comes from an arts background, she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Modern Dance from Sarah Lawrence College, a Master of Arts in Teaching degree in Art Education from Tufts University and had a 16 year career at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Resources:
– Return to Life through Contrology is considered to be the original Pilates exercise book. If you have not read Return to Life through Contrology, you absolutely should get a copy.
Return to Life through Contrology on Amazon
– Check out the George Hoyningen-Huene website here:
George Hoyningen Huene Website
