Lot 13
  • 13

André Kertész

Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • André Kertész
  • DISTORTION: CARLO RIM AND ANDRÉ KERTÉSZ
  • Gelatin silver print
the photographer's '75 Bould. Montparnasse, Paris 6e' studio stamp (Phillips, Paris Stamp 2) and his reproduction rights stamp (Phillips, Paris Stamp 4) on the reverse, framed, Buhl Collection and Guggenheim Museum exhibition labels on the reverse, 1930

Provenance

Collection of Carlo Rim (pseudonym of Jean Marius Richard)

By descent to his son, Jean-Pierre Richard

James Danziger Gallery, New York, 1997

Exhibited

New York, Guggenheim Museum, Speaking with Hands: Photographs from The Buhl Collection, June - September 2004, and 4 other international venues through 2007 (see Appendix 1)

Literature

Jennifer Blessing, Speaking with Hands: Photographs from The Buhl Collection (Guggenheim Foundation, 2004), pp. 116 and 225 (this print)

Sarah Greenough, Robert Gurbo, and Sarah Kennel, André Kertész (National Gallery of Art, 2005), pl. 68 (this print)

Condition

This impressive early print is on heavy single-weight paper with a slightly glossy surface. Like the best of Kertesz's Paris prints, this image is rendered with a great deal of subtlety with an emphasis on the mid tones. It is trimmed flush to the image, and some very minor wear can be seen on the edges and corners, but this is insignificant. When examined closely in high raking light, two circular slightly raised areas can be seen in the upper left quadrant. The presence of the hinges can be seen as slightly raised areas in the upper corners. None of these issues in any way undermines the generally superb appearance of this early print
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

This combination of portrait and self-portrait was taken by Kertész while on assignment in 1930 for VU magazine, shortly after Carlo Rim became the editor.  Rim (the pseudonym of Jean Marius Richard) was a caricaturist, and Kertész struck upon the idea of photographing him reflected in a funhouse mirror.  The present image shows Rim and Kertész together, the mirror creating an elegant ‘figure 8’ with their arms.  Their hands are multiplied, poised gracefully at the bottom and melding together just above the center.  Kertész has included his camera in the frame, and his hand can be seen pressing the shutter.  The photograph is a wonderfully playful collaboration between two highly creative artists.  Kertész made a number of whimsical studies of Carlo Rim that day at the funhouse: one which transformed the artist into a giant trapezoid graced the August 1930 cover of VU, with the caption ‘Est-ce l’Homme le Plus Gros du Monde?’ (André Kertész, p. 252).

Carlo Rim’s belief in photography was made manifest in his catalogue introduction for a 1930 exhibition that included Kertész’s photographs.  He wrote, ‘Photography has its own folklore, its primitives, academics and fauves.  But its youthful vigor, its new faith, its means, rapid and sure, have permitted it to run through, in less than 40 years, what painting has carefully paced for centuries.  The hare has reached the finish line the same time as the tortoise’ (quoted in Of Paris and New York, p. 46). 

The photograph offered here comes originally from the group of early prints of Kertész’s distortions of Rim owned by Carlo Rim himself.