The Artist's Umbrella
Heinrich Kühn Austrian, born Germany
Not on view
Kühn always acknowledged his debt to painters and advised photographers, if they were to become artists, to look at paintings. In this photograph, the motif of nude children on the shore may have been suggested to Kühn by the work of Max Lieberman, a painter of the Munich Secession. The bold, graphic treatment is, however, purely photographic, closely suggesting a snapshot. From his vantage point, Kühn organized the scene into what appears to be an amusing rebus in which the white octagonal shape of the umbrella effectively hides the main protagonist from view. Combining the gum and platinum processes, the image is delicately printed in a soft palette of middle tones, which harmonize with its subdued humor.
