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Distortion #51

André Kertész American, born Hungary
1933
Not on view
Although Kertesz had long been interested in mirrors, reflections, and the idea of distorting the human figure, he did not seriously investigate their photographic possibilities until 1933, when the risqué French magazine Le Sourire commissioned him to make a series of figure studies. Using a funhouse mirror from a Parisian amusement park, Kertesz, who had never photographed nudes before, spent four weeks making about two hundred negatives. A handful of these Distortions, including this one, are compellingly surreal and unnerving--not unlike Munch's famous painting The Scream of 1893 (National Gallery, Oslo).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Distortion #51
  • Artist: André Kertész (American (born Hungary), Budapest 1894–1985 New York)
  • Date: 1933
  • Medium: Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions: Image: 9.6 x 6.9 cm (3 3/4 x 2 11/16 in.)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 1987
  • Object Number: 1987.1180
  • Rights and Reproduction: © The Estate of André Kertész / Higher Pictures
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

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Mr. Caillot's Dog and the Keys of Notre Dame, Paris, André Kertész American, born Hungary, Gelatin silver print
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Rockefeller Center, New York, André Kertész American, born Hungary, Gelatin silver print
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André Kertész
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