André Kertész
Chez Mondrian, 1926
Vintage Silver Gelatin Print
Printed before 1942
Printed before 1942
24,4 x 18,7 cm
9 5/8 x 7 3/8in.
9 5/8 x 7 3/8in.
Chez Mondrian is a “text written with light”. This light not only demonstrates how Kertész is gifted with his own language in photography but it also reveals the aesthetics of...
Chez Mondrian is a “text written with light”. This light not only demonstrates how Kertész is gifted with his own language in photography but it also reveals the aesthetics of Mondrian. This photograph, however, was not published until 1943, even though it was shown at some exhibitions and stands as a portrait of Mondrian without him being seen. This is surely a great compliment to Mondrian's search for true abstraction. The curves of the bannister, the roundness of the hat, the vase and the arbitrarily natural standing of the artificial flower together speak of the common language that Mondrian wanted to create through geometry and color.
All the content of the image was provided by Mondrian’s life style and philosophy and even his psychology in art and life. However, the moment these Mondrian elements host the diffused light and visit the space and time caught by the great talent of Kertész who, in his own words, “instinctively tried to capture the spirit” of Mondrian’s paintings.
© Cigdem Mirol
All the content of the image was provided by Mondrian’s life style and philosophy and even his psychology in art and life. However, the moment these Mondrian elements host the diffused light and visit the space and time caught by the great talent of Kertész who, in his own words, “instinctively tried to capture the spirit” of Mondrian’s paintings.
© Cigdem Mirol
Provenance
Gift to James Johnson Sweeney before 1942Literature
Borhan, André Kertész: His Life and Work, p. 155
Bulfinch Press, On the Art of Fixing A Shadow: 150 Years of Photography, pl. 240
High Museum of Art, Chorus of Light: Photographs from the Sir Elton John Collection, p. 124
Museum Ludwig, Sammlung Gruber: Photographie des 20. Jahrhunderts, p. 132
National Gallery of Art, André Kertész, pl. 50
Penguin Books, André Kertész: Sixty Years of Photography, p. 119
Thames & Hudson, André Kertész Of Paris and New York, p. 136
Publications
'Photographs from the Julien Levy Collection,Starting with Atget' (The Art Institute of Chicago,1976), par David Travis, 4e de couverture (ill.)
'André Kertész' (Centre d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, 1977), par Pierre de Fenoyl, p.28 (ill.)
'André Kertész : Sixty Years of Photography' (Penguin Books, New York, 1978), par Nicolas
Ducrot, p.119 (ill.)
'André Kertész: Diary of Light' (New York, 1987), par KubotaHarder, p.71 (ill.)
'André Kertész, Photographie',Musée Jacquemart-André, 9 décembre 1987-25 février 1988, Paris, 1987, p.61 (ill.)
'On the Art of Fixing A Shadow: 150 Years of Photography '(The National Gallery of Art, 1989),
par Sarah Greenough, David Travis, p.240 (ill.)
'Photographs from the Julien Levy Collection,
Starting with Atget' (The Art Institute of Chicago, 1976), par David Travis, 4e de couverture (ill.)
'André Kertész' (Centre d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, 1977), par Pierre de Fenoyl, p.28 (ill.)
'André Kertész : Sixty Years of Photography'
(Penguin Books, New York, 1978), par Nicolas
Ducrot, p.119 (ill.)
'André Kertész: Diary of Light' (New York, 1987), par KubotaHarder, p.71 (ill.)
'André Kertész, Photographie',Musée Jacquemart-André, 9 décembre 1987-25 février 1988, Paris, 1987, p.61 (ill.)
'On the Art of Fixing A Shadow: 150 Years of
Photography' (The National Gallery of Art, 1989), par Sarah Greenough, David Travis, p.240 (ill.)