Alfred Stieglitz Collection, The critic Charles H. Some sources state that no evidence of this nobiliary creation, however, has been found. He made it, and he made it good. His photographs of the well to do, film stars and fashion models are undoubtedly beautiful and his control of light magnificent, but they seem to me to be, well⦠constructed confections. Look, for example, at the self-portrait of de Meyer in this posting.
In the self-portrait in India when he was 32 and on his honeymoon, we see a coiffed, almost androgynous man who in his pose is as stiff as a board β his body contorted in the strangest way, the right hand gripping the arm of the cane chair, the left splayed and braced, ramrod straight against the seat and the feet crossed in the most unnatural manner. No matter the beautiful light and attractive setting, this is the image that this man wants to portray to the world, this is a man who thinks he has arrived.
It is an affectation. And in the portrait of the aristocrat and patron of the avant-garde, Count Etienne de Beaumont c. Because in the end, he was. Only when he is so overwhelmed by stardust, such as in the brilliant photographs of Josephine Baker and her scintillating personality, does the mask of affection drop away. Of more interest to me are his early photographs of Japan where you feel he has some personal investment in the work.
I beg to differ. Perhaps I just feel the music, I see these photographs as if I were taking them, as a personal investment in their previsualisation. I most certainly feel their energy. You only have to look at the reflection of the water lilies.
Need I say more. Many thankx to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for allowing me to publish the photographs in the posting. Please click on the photographs for a larger version of the image. Quicksilver Brilliance will be the first museum exhibition devoted to the artist in more than 20 years and the first ever at The Met. Some 40 works, drawn entirely from The Met collection, will demonstrate the impressive breadth of his career.
