The Theatre of the Face: Portrait Photography Since 1900 - Hardcover

Kozloff, Max

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0714843725 ISBN 13: 9780714843728

Publisher: Phaidon Press, 2007

Synopsis

An engaging and authoritative commentary on the history of portrait photography by one of the world's leading photography critics, this book provides a new perspective on the history of the medium through examining the personalities both behind and in front of the camera, as well as the fascinating relationship between photographer and subject as revealed through the genre. Fully illustrated with over 300 Black and White and colour photographs, it covers a broad range of styles and movements from early portraitists such as Edward Sheriff Curtis to the well-known work of seminal figures including Walker Evans, Cecil Beaton and August Sander, as well as contemporary portraiture by Thomas Ruff, Philip Lorca diCorcia and Cindy Sherman. This book is an essential title for critics, students of photography, photography enthusiasts, or anyone with a general interest in portraiture.

About this title

Product Description:

Providing a history of portrait photography, this book includes a range of photographic styles and movements, and photographers. It is illustrated with images, which include the work of seminal figures in photographic history, alongside lesser-known photographers whose contribution has been overlooked in general histories of photography.

Synopsis:

"The face is where we are. We kiss, eat, breathe and speak through it. It's where we look, listen and smell. It is where we think of ourselves as being finally and conclusively on show. It's the part we hide when we are ashamed and the bit we think we lose when we are in disgrace" - Jonathon Green. Though portrait photography is one of the most popular and enduring of all photographic genres it is also the least studied, with no publication that fully examines the intrinsic psychological and social aspects of portraiture. This important publication redresses this imbalance, revealing a new history of photography through this genre, with an engaging text that also reveals the personalities behind the camera and in front of it. As such, it is an essential text and will be the key title for photography students, specialists and enthusiasts for years to come, as well as appeal to a wide general readership who will engage with Max Kozloff's passion for the portrait and his lively and entertaining narrative.

The book is fully illustrated with over 300 images, which include some of the best-known portraits of all time and the work of seminal figures in photographic history, alongside lesser-known photographers whose contribution has been overlooked in general histories of photography. This expansive book also includes a range of photographic styles and movements, and photographers whose intentions vary considerably. From Edward Sheriff Curtis' ethnographic project portraying the Native American Indians, to the social documentarist Lewis W Hine's depiction of the lives of children working in sweatshops; from the major FSA project documenting the Depression in the United States through the work of figures like Dorothea Lange and Margaret Bourke-White, to the street photography of Brassai and Robert Doisneau; from August Sander's ambitious intention to photograph the totality of German society, to Chris Verene's portrayal of his family in Galesburg, Illinois.

The chapter structure is broadly chronological and thematic, with analyses of the photographs featured, alongside a wider discussion of the photographers themselves, accompanied by an illuminating preface and conclusion, and a selected bibliography by the author.

About this edition

• Publisher: Phaidon Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0714843725
• ISBN 13: 9780714843728
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336