Tickets
English
DonateMembership
Tickets

Struggle

1903 or earlier
Not on view
Demachy was the leading French proponent of Pictorialism and the director of the Photo-Club de Paris, the French parallel to the American Photo-Secession (led by Alfred Stieglitz), the Viennese Kleeblatt, and the British Brotherhood of the Linked Ring. Like his American and European counterparts, Demachy produced and promoted a type of photography that self-consciously evoked drawing and painting-part of an effort to distinguish his pictures from the products of amateur snap shooters and commercial photographers.
Demachy was particularly interested in nonstandard photographic processes and is noted especially for his revival of the gum bichromate process (invented in 1855 but little used until the 1890s), which allowed the introduction of color and brushwork into the photographic image. The orange pigment in this print is meant to evoke sanguine, a reddish chalk often used in life drawings.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Struggle
  • Artist: Robert Demachy (French, 1859–1936)
  • Date: 1903 or earlier
  • Medium: Gum bichromate print
  • Dimensions: Image: 17.4 x 11.6 cm (6 7/8 x 4 9/16 in.)
    Mount: 17.7 x 11.9 cm (6 15/16 x 4 11/16 in.)
    Mount (2nd): 39.6 x 29.6 cm (15 9/16 x 11 5/8 in.)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Gift of Isaac Lagnado, in honor of Thomas P. Campbell, 2008
  • Object Number: 2008.666.3
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Panel, Robert Demachy French, Gum bichromate print
Panel
Robert Demachy
1898
Tenor cornett, Brass, Probably French
Tenor cornett
Probably French
19th century
The Ring Toss, Clarence H. White American, Gum bichromate print
The Ring Toss
Clarence H. White
1899
Académie, Robert Demachy French, Gum bichromate print
Académie
Robert Demachy
1900
Costume Bell, metal, Possibly French
Costume Bell
Possibly French
19th century

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.