KERTÉSZ ANDRÉ (1894 1985) Distortion No 166 Paris

Sale 2311 - Lot 85

Unsold

Estimate: $ 10,000 - $ 15,000

KERTÉSZ, ANDRÉ (1894-1985)
"Distortion No. 166, Paris." Silver print, 9 5/8x6 3/4 inches (24.4x17.1 cm.), with Kertész's signature, title, and date, in pencil, on verso. 1933; printed late 1950s

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Kertész's marvelous distortion is a stunning interpretation of the modernist idiom, with its innovative, stylistic depiction of the female body. The series began as a prescient experiment, in 1920, when one of his first images was featured on the cover of "Vu" magazine, a French publication known for its pioneering use of photographs. Indeed, the decade known as the Roaring '20s provided the ideal backdrop for such daring experimentation, with women enjoying unprecedented freedoms and new social realities.

During the early 1930s, while Kertész was living in Paris, he resumed his exploration, pushing the boundaries associated with depiction of the figure. Interestingly, the French humor magazine, "La Sourire" commissioned the series of some 200 works, some of which present the body as an almost unrecognizable mass. However, the photograph offered in this lot, which was printed in the 1950s, is an early example of an abstract and representational work with a more familiar approach.

Like any great picture, Distortion #166 raises numerous questions. Was Kertész making a wry commentary on the predominant representation of women as sexual objects? Was his use of the funhouse mirror an aesthetic method to perceive the fluidity of the female form? Or, was this photographer, who is known for a distinctive poetic imagination, suggesting that beauty will always be in the eye of the beholder.