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Je veux être seule

1979
Not on view
During the decades before and after Mali’s independence from France in 1960, Malick Sidibé operated a highly regarded commercial photography studio in the capital city of Bamako, making thousands of portraits for a burgeoning middle class. The central print represents a case of retrospective omission: the woman who commissioned this portrait returned to the studio after her husband left her and asked that he remove his image from the photograph, a request with which Sidibé complied.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Je veux être seule
  • Artist: Malick Sidibé (Malian, Soloba 1936–2016 Bamako)
  • Date: 1979
  • Medium: Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions: 18.4 x 13.3 cm (7 1/4 x 5 1/4 in.)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Gift of Jack Shainman Gallery, 2003
  • Object Number: 2003.219
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Estate of Malick Sidibé
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs
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[Man Standing Before Striped Background], Malick Sidibé  Malian, Gelatin silver print
Malick Sidibé
1976
Door with crocodiles and pythons, Bamana or Bozo blacksmith, Wood, iron alloy, Bamana or Bozo peoples
Bamana or Bozo blacksmith
19th–mid-20th century
[The Great Wave, Sète], Gustave Le Gray  French, Albumen silver print from glass negative
Gustave Le Gray
1857
Baptême chez Jafuna, Malick Sidibé  Malian, Gelatin silver print
Malick Sidibé
ca. 1968
Nama tyétyé (hyena) headdress, Bamana numu (blacksmith), Wood, metal, cane, cotton, Bamana peoples
Bamana numu (blacksmith)
19th–mid-20th century

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