Lot n° 128
Estimation :
2000 - 3000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 26 000EUR
MAN RAY (1890-1976)
The Tears, 1932
Gelatin-silver print made by Pierre Gassmann in 1976 (stamp on the back), Man Ray Paris stamp.
24.2 x 29.6 cm
Hm : 20.5 x 27.7 cm
The Tears, 1932
Gelatin-silver print made by Pierre Gassmann in 1976 (stamp on the back with the date), Man Ray Paris stamp.
9.53 x 11.66 inch.
Hm: 8.08 x 10.91 inch.
Note:
Lydia, a French cancan dancer and Man Ray's model, is the person who inspired Man Ray for this photograph.
Known as Les Larmes, she is a typical example of the change the artist can make to his image through framing. To this day, there are five known versions of this photograph. Five studies, shall we say, going "from the general to the particular". The first one is the whole face of Lydia, the second one focuses on the eyes and the mouth, the third one frames the eyes and the nose, the fourth one is the close-up on an eye which, inverted, constitutes the last version, presented here. The image in its first state does not emphasize the real object of the photograph: the glass tears artificially glued to the model's cheeks. It is therefore less striking. It should be noted that the artist never published it in this way and that the only time it was exhibited in this version was relatively recently, in the exhibition Explosante Fixe at the Centre Pompidou in 1985. On the other hand, from the beginning, Man Ray published this photograph in two different versions: in Minotaur and in Photography it is the framing on the two eyes, while for the book Photographs by Man Ray, 1920 - Paris, 1934 (1934) he made a close-up on the eye. Thereafter, it is exclusively these two versions that will be known, and this until 1993, when we discover the wider framing including the mouth of the model.
But we cannot explain this work without dwelling on its erotic aspect. Man Ray himself says in his Self-portrait that poets have seen "in the eye of a woman her sex reflected". And he continues: "they realized that the head contained more orifices than the rest of the body, so many more invitations to poetic, that is, sensual exploration. You can kiss an eye or make it wet without offending decency. When the head is completely revealed, either in its natural state, or adorned with the embellishments of make-up, jewelry and hairstyle, one sees a real orgy take place; nothing can then curb the imagination, prey to the most scandalous speculations." Further on, he affirms that "it is first of all by the eyes that the sexual sense is stimulated". Thus, the different framings of this image are like an exploration of the woman and her intimacy. The evolution from the widest framing, which contains the mouth, nose and eyes, to the tightest framing, on one eye, is composed like the amorous evolution, which goes from a first attraction to the fulfilled desire; the woman's face is a call to love, which finally materializes: "the lips, two bodies that complement each other in harmony", "the nose smells invisible odors that can affect all the other senses", and the eyes that "do not only receive an external image, but they return the image of an invisible thought".
Lydia, a French cancan dancer and Man Ray's model, she inspired Man Ray for this photograph.
Known as Les Larmes, it is a typical example of the change the artist can make to the image through framing. To this day, there are five known versions of this photograph. Five studies, ranging "from the general to the specific". The first is Lydia's entire face, the second focuses on the eyes and mouth, the third frames the eyes and nose, the fourth is a close-up of an eye, which, when inverted, constitutes the last version, presented here. The image in its first state does not emphasize the real object of the photograph: the glass tears artificially glued to the model's cheeks. It is therefore less striking. It should be noted that the artist never published it in this way and that the only time it was exhibited in this version was relatively recently, in the exhibition Explosante Fixe at the Centre Pompidou in 1985. On the other hand, from the beginning, Man Ray published this photograph in two different versions: in Minotaur and in Photography framing only the two eyes, while the book Photographs by Man Ray, 1920- Paris, 1934 (1934) contained a close-up of the eye. Afterwards, only these two versions were known, until 1993, when the wider framing including the model's mouth was discovered.
But it would be impossible to explain this work without exploring on its erotic aspect. Man Ray himself says in his Self-portrait that poets have seen "the sex of a woman reflected in her eyes". And he continues: "they realized that the head contained more orifices than the rest of the body, so many more poetic invitations, that is to say se
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