Photograph: Portrait of Picasso

RAY, MAN [MAN RAY]. PICASSO, PABLO

Published by np, Paris, 1932

About this Item

MAN RAY CAPTURES PICASSO'S ESSENCE IN LEGENDARY PORTRAIT. AN ICONIC PHOTOGRAPH WITH IMPORTANT PROVENANCE: From the famous Sotheby's sale of 1995 of items from the "Estate of Juliet Man Ray, The Man Ray Trust and the Family of Juliet Man Ray". The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Emmanuel "Manny" Radnitzky (1890-1976) grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He displayed creative abilities from a young age and studied to be a painter. He adopted "Man Ray" as his pseudonym and in 1915 formed the New York group of Dada artists with Marcel Duchamp. In the 1920s and 1930s, Paris was the destination for the international avant-garde, offering an exceptional number of galleries, art dealers, and wealthy patrons who promised artistic freedom. Man Ray sailed to the "City of Light" in 1921, joined Parisian Dada and Surrealist circles and became intimate associates with Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst and other leading artists. He pursued fashion and portrait photography creating a pantheon of the city's cultural life. "As a photographer, I was in demand," Ray explained to John Bainbridge, a writer at The New Yorker. "I was like a doctor. Everybody needed me." (Bolz) To be photographed by Man Ray meant you had made it in the Parisian art world. Ray often said that Old Masters, especially Hans Holbein the Younger, Rembrandt, and Vermeer inspired his portraits. "I. admired the respect with which they treated the proportions of human features," he wrote in an article published in Modern Photography magazine in November 1957. He also made considerable technological advancements in the field by creating "rayographs" (photographic images composed of ordinary objects placed on photo sensitive paper exposed to light) and developing solarization (the process of tone reversal observed in cases of extreme overexposure). "I photograph the things that I do not wish to paint, the things which already have an existence," Ray said. (Schwarz, 10) Ray sought to create a sense of drama and mystery, believing that his photography could transcend the mechanical nature of a camera. When photographing his friends and colleagues Ray's emotional and psychological insights allowed him to expose the soul of each subject. One such subject and friend was Pablo Picasso. Man Ray and Picasso met in 1921 in Paris. They became friends through their connection to Surrealism, spending holidays together and collaborating on creative pursuits. In his autobiography, Man Ray described Picasso: "[He] gave me the impression of a man who was aware of all that was going on about him and in the world in general, a man who reacted violently to all impacts, but had only one outlet to express his feelings: painting." (Man Ray, 177) The intensity and awareness that Man Ray described is masterfully captured in his portraits of the painter. This photo we have on offer is from Man Ray's renowned series of Picasso portraits and coincided with the publication of the first volume of Picasso's catalogue raisonné, reflecting the critical position Picasso's work occupied in the French artistic establishment. In this monumental photograph from 1932, Man Ray unusually presented Picasso in an open trench coat over his jacket and tie. Choosing to shoot this portrait in profile, he captured Picasso's pensive expression. Ray used a bold lighting effect and an unadorned background so as not to detract from the subject. Picasso is slightly out-of-focus creating a subtle softness. The print is also on thin, tissue-like paper, creating texture and depth. (Man Ray was famous for experimenting with different types of paper for his prints.) This 1932 Portrait of Picasso was selected for Man Ray's seminal 1934 album which included his most important photographs. This print has the Man Ray stamps (M28 and M30) on the reverse and was lot 487 from the sale of the "Estate of Juliet Man Ray, The Man Ray Trust and the Family of Juliet Man Ray" (Sotheby's March 22 and 23, 1995). Man Ray and Picasso remained close confidantes after.

Seller Inventory # 2651

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Photograph: Portrait of Picasso
• Publisher: np, Paris
• Publication Date: 1932
• Condition: Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Art & Photography