Femme-Mandoline
Photograph
1967 (published), (published), 1934-5 (made)
1967 (published), (published), 1934-5 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Brassaï made these images between 1934-5, inspired by a two-year collaboration with the artist Pablo Picasso. He launched an exploration into engraving techniques, and made these works by engraving directly onto photographic glass plates. This was a departure from the style of straight photography that he had employed in his work until this point. It was not unusual, particularly in the 1930s, for Brassaï to use angles and vantage points to create an abstracted composition, but physical intervention, such as is seen in this work, was new. It evokes the ideology of European artistic movements of the time, particularly Surrealism and Cubism, which Brassaï would have been exposed to during his time with Picasso. He experimented with obscuring the original images to varying degrees, with the results ranging from the representational to the entirely abstract. A selection of the work was published in portfolio form in 1967, along with an accompanying essay. The title ‘Transmutations’ makes reference to the mutation of the body as a consequence of the intervention on the photograph.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Title | Femme-Mandoline (assigned by artist) |
Materials and techniques | Gelatin silver print from etched glass plate |
Brief description | Photograph by Brassaï from the portfolio 'Transmutations', published 1967. 'Femme-Mandoline' [Mandolin Woman], image 4 of 12, 1934-5, gelatin silver print |
Physical description | White portfolio sheet, folded on the left edge, featuring an image on the inner right page. The image is predominantly dark with some white marks depicting a patterned line to the right and abstract, globular shapes to the left. A woman's navel and breast are visible within the shapes to the left. The title is printed on the front page: 'IV / femme-mandoline' |
Dimensions |
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Styles | |
Credit line | Bequest of Gilberte Boyer Brassaï |
Object history | This object came to the museum as part of a bequest of 99 photographs by Brassaï from his widow, Madame Gilberte Boyer. |
Summary | Brassaï made these images between 1934-5, inspired by a two-year collaboration with the artist Pablo Picasso. He launched an exploration into engraving techniques, and made these works by engraving directly onto photographic glass plates. This was a departure from the style of straight photography that he had employed in his work until this point. It was not unusual, particularly in the 1930s, for Brassaï to use angles and vantage points to create an abstracted composition, but physical intervention, such as is seen in this work, was new. It evokes the ideology of European artistic movements of the time, particularly Surrealism and Cubism, which Brassaï would have been exposed to during his time with Picasso. He experimented with obscuring the original images to varying degrees, with the results ranging from the representational to the entirely abstract. A selection of the work was published in portfolio form in 1967, along with an accompanying essay. The title ‘Transmutations’ makes reference to the mutation of the body as a consequence of the intervention on the photograph. |
Bibliographic reference | Alain Sayag, Annick Lionel-Marie, Brassaï: No Ordinary Eyes, London: Thames & Hudson (2000), pp213-221
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Collection | |
Accession number | E.933:6-2014 |
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Record created | April 15, 2015 |
Record URL |
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