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Flower Girl

Photograph
1931 (photographed), ca. 1931 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Bing, Ilse (photographer)
Place of origin
Paris (photographed)

Ilse Bing (1899-1998) was one of several leading women photographers in the inter-war period. Born into a Jewish family in Frankfurt, she initially pursued an academic career before moving to Paris in 1930 to concentrate on photography. In the early 1930s Bing was a prolific photographer, well-known for her modernist, journalistic city scenes. She earned her living by making portraits as well. This portrait of a young girl staring into the distance shows Bing's skill as a portraitist. The large nasturtiums in the background contrast with the delicate bright flowers on the girl's dress. The shadows behind highlight the bright young face, emphasising the subject. Bing was fascinated with shadow and abstract forms, and brought these concerns to her compositions.

Object details

Category
Photographs
Object type
Photograph
TitleFlower Girl (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Gelatin-silver print
Brief description
Flower girl, photograph by Ilse Bing, vintage gelatin-silver print, Paris, 1931
Physical description
Black and white photograph of a young girl in a flowery dress. Mounted loosely on white card.
Dimensions
  • Image height: 28.1cm
  • Image width: 22cm
  • Mount height: 42cm
  • Mount width: 35cm
Style
Modernist
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'ILSE BING/1931' (Written by artist on bottom left of image in black ink.)
  • '[2294-883-D26]' (Ilse Bing Wolff Estate's archival reference for the work assigned prior to acquisition by the V&A. Written on reverse of mount in pencil, bottom centre.)
  • 'ILSE BING/1931/ Flower girl' (Written on reverse of mount in pencil)
  • 'ILSE BING/1931' (Studio stamp in ink on reverse of photograph)
Credit line
Bequeathed by Ilse Bing Wolff
Production
vintage print
Subject depicted
Dress
Place depicted
Paris
Summary
Ilse Bing (1899-1998) was one of several leading women photographers in the inter-war period. Born into a Jewish family in Frankfurt, she initially pursued an academic career before moving to Paris in 1930 to concentrate on photography. In the early 1930s Bing was a prolific photographer, well-known for her modernist, journalistic city scenes. She earned her living by making portraits as well. This portrait of a young girl staring into the distance shows Bing's skill as a portraitist. The large nasturtiums in the background contrast with the delicate bright flowers on the girl's dress. The shadows behind highlight the bright young face, emphasising the subject. Bing was fascinated with shadow and abstract forms, and brought these concerns to her compositions.
Bibliographic reference
Barrett, Nancy C. Ilse Bing: Three decades of photography New Orleans: New Orleans Museum of Art, 1985
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.3044-2004

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Record createdJanuary 10, 2006
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O120363/flower-girl-photograph-bing-ilse/
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