Sculpture, Royal College of Art
Photograph
1931 (made)
1931 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Emil Otto Hoppé was one of the most active art and documentary photographers of his time. Born in Munich, Hoppé moved to London in his early 20s where he began to exhibit as an amateur photographer. He opened his first photography studio in 1907, expanding to a larger studio by 1911. Hoppé became a renowned portrait photographer. His sitters included many luminary personalities from the arts, literature, and politics such as George Bernard Shaw, Thomas Hardy, T.S. Eliot, Vaslav Nijinsky, Queen Mary, King George, and other members of the Royal Family. Hoppé was also known as a talented landscape and travel photographer. He journeyed across Britain and Ireland to study people from all walks of life, but also as far as Cuba, Sri Lanka and New Zealand to expand his body of work. This collecton of 80 photographs depict London in the 1920s and 30s, including famous landmarks such as Big Ben, St Pauls Cathedral and boats on the river Thames. There are also snapshots of day to day life in the city, often captured by Hoppé with a mix of poignancy and humour. A large portion of the pictures depict the V&A, such as cleaners in the galleries, a blind winder, the 1930s equivalent of ‘Opinions’ afternoons, and lectures. There are also images of the Natural History Museum and the Royal College of Art.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Sculpture, Royal College of Art (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Gelatin silver print |
| Brief description | Photograph by Emil Otto Hoppé of Sculpture, Royal College of Art, London, 1931 |
| Physical description | Photograph depicts students in sculpture class at Royal College of Art. The photograph is taken from a slightly higher vantage point looking down onto a class of seven students, five male, two female, and a life model who is central in the frame. The life model stands in profile to the camera on a small pedestal, she wears a long skirt and shoes and is naked from the waist up, her hair is worn in a braid that is pulled back into a bun. The students form a circle around the model in order to duplicate her figure. Each student makes a life size clay rendering of the model from the waist up, each rendering is at different stages of development and is being worked on a high stool with three sides. In the background on the left can be seen a door, with a white curtain in front. There are a number of plinths covered in white fabric. Attached to the wooden wall in the background can be seen two large reliefs, two jackets hanging, six plaster casts of hands and one plaster cast of a leg. On the reverse of the photograph is written 'Royal College of Art,' 'Life Class' and the numbers '19793-16.' |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Gift of the American Friends of the V&A |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | Emil Otto Hoppé was one of the most active art and documentary photographers of his time. Born in Munich, Hoppé moved to London in his early 20s where he began to exhibit as an amateur photographer. He opened his first photography studio in 1907, expanding to a larger studio by 1911. Hoppé became a renowned portrait photographer. His sitters included many luminary personalities from the arts, literature, and politics such as George Bernard Shaw, Thomas Hardy, T.S. Eliot, Vaslav Nijinsky, Queen Mary, King George, and other members of the Royal Family. Hoppé was also known as a talented landscape and travel photographer. He journeyed across Britain and Ireland to study people from all walks of life, but also as far as Cuba, Sri Lanka and New Zealand to expand his body of work. This collecton of 80 photographs depict London in the 1920s and 30s, including famous landmarks such as Big Ben, St Pauls Cathedral and boats on the river Thames. There are also snapshots of day to day life in the city, often captured by Hoppé with a mix of poignancy and humour. A large portion of the pictures depict the V&A, such as cleaners in the galleries, a blind winder, the 1930s equivalent of ‘Opinions’ afternoons, and lectures. There are also images of the Natural History Museum and the Royal College of Art. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | PH.291-2021 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | March 20, 2018 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
