MAN RAY (1890-1976)

Lot 22
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Estimation :
4000 - 5000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 6 240EUR
MAN RAY (1890-1976)
Dada group, 1922 Left to right: Paul Chadourne, Tristan Tzara, Philippe Soupault, Serge Charchoune, Paul Éluard, Jacques Rigault, Mick Soupault, Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes Original gelatin-silver print 17,9 x 23,8 cm Dada group, 1922 Left to right: Paul Chadourne, Tristan Tzara, Philippe Soupault, Serge Charchoune, Paul Éluard, Jacques Rigault, Mick Soupault, Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes Original gelatin-silver print 7.05 x 9.38 inch. Provenance: Collection Edmonde et Lucien Treillard, Paris Bibliography: - J.-H. Martin, Man Ray photographe, Paris, Philippe Sers,1981, p. 53 - Merry Foresta, Perpetual Motif: the art of Man Ray, Washington, Gallimard, 1988, p.102 - Ronny van de Velde, Man Ray, 1890-1976, Anvers, Albin Michel, 1994, n°206 - Alain Sayag, Collection de photographies du Musée national d'art moderne, 1905-1948, Centre Georges Pompidou, 1996, p. 303 (AM 1987-883, variant) - E. de l'Ecotais, K. Ware, Man Ray, Taschen, 2001, p. 244 - V. Dehò, Man Ray magic, Damiani, 2005, p.23 - T. Pepper, Man Ray Portraits, Fonds Mercator, National Portrait Gallery, London, 2013, p. 190 Man Ray, portraitist of the whole of Paris Upon his arrival in Paris in July 1921, Marcel Duchamp introduced Man Ray to the entire artistic milieu: Louis Aragon (lot n°40), André Breton (lot n°102), Paul Eluard (lot n°47), Jean Cocteau (lot n°45), Tristan Tzara (lot n°54), Pablo Picasso (lot n°26),... To earn a living, Man Ray initially made reproductions of works of art for his artist friends, and took advantage of this to paint their portraits. Gradually, all the Parisian avant-garde came before the lens of Man Ray, but also authors such as Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes (lot no. 51), musicians such as Darius Milhaud (lot no. 36) or Erik Satie (lot no. 34), and these portraits are published in magazines such as Vanity Fair, Vogue, or Variety... The Marquise Casati (lot n°23), dazzled by this "miracle worker", recommended him to all her acquaintances. Man Ray's posing sessions are quite simple. In a few images (between four and six) he managed to obtain a portrait that conformed to the characteristics of his model. The background is always neutral, the accessories discreet, nothing hinders the artist's point of view, who obtains a sensitive and direct vision of his models. Characteristic of his technique, the portraits are always cropped afterwards to soften the features. Retouching on negatives is also one of the techniques often used by Man Ray. In 1924, Robert Desnos defined Man Ray's talent as a portraitist as follows: "As a photographer, Man Ray is no more a matter of artistic deformation than of a slavish reproduction of "nature". Your flats and bumps will reveal someone you don't know, someone you didn't dare to glimpse in your dreams. A new you will emerge in the delicate hands of the chemist, in the red light of the laboratory. He will blink as he comes out into the open air; so do the night birds." ("Man Ray", Paris Journal, December 13, 1924, p.5) His success was such that the whole of Paris came to have their portraits taken at his place. He quickly moved out of his small hotel room and into a studio on rue Campagne-Première, luxurious for the time because it had a bathroom. Gradually, foreigners passing through Paris flocked to the studio: Virginia Woolf (lot n°53), James Joyce (lot n°42). Man Ray's reputation was growing. So much so that he was even able to publish an advertisement for his studio in Minotaure in 1935. Man Ray was then at the height of his fame. E. de l'Ecotais Man Ray, portraitist of the "tout Paris" Upon his arrival in Paris in July 1921, Marcel Duchamp introduced Man Ray to the entire artistic community: Louis Aragon (lot n°40), André Breton (lot n°102), Paul Eluard (lot n°47), Jean Cocteau (lot n°45), Tristan Tzara (lot n°54), Pablo Picasso (lot n°26),... To earn a living, Man Ray initially made reproductions of works of art for his artist friends and took advantage of this to paint their portraits. Eventually, all of the Parisian avant-garde sat for Man Ray, as well as authors such as Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes (lot n°51), musicians such as Darius Milhaud (lot n°36) or Erik Satie (lot n°34), these portraits were published in magazines such as Vanity Fair, Vogue, or Variétés... The Marquise Casati (lot n°23), dazzled by this "miracle worker", recommended him to everyone she knew. Man Ray's posing sessions were fairly simple. In a few images (from four to six) he was able to produce a portrait that reflected the characteristics of his model. The background neutral, the accessories discreet, nothing hinders the artist's perspective. He therefore obtains a view of his models that is both sensitive and direct. Characteristic of his technique, the portraits are always cropped afterwards to
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