Accession Number
1985/1.125.7

Title
Heavy Burden

Artist(s)
André Kertész

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1916, printed 1980

Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper

Dimensions
7 15/16 in x 9 15/16 in (20.16 cm x 25.24 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Edward M. Strauss

Subject matter
One of a series of photographs that Kertész took in the Hungarian village of Esztergom, this photograph depicts a young woman hauling two large buckets up a hill using a plank of wood to balance the load on her shoulders. The winding dirt path she climbs is lined with several ramshackle houses, from which the shadowy figure of a man appears to observe her, or perhaps the photographer. Beyond the sharply delineated foreground scene, a body of water, likely the river Danube, and a spit of land are visible in the hazy distance. This image is included in a portfolio of 15 photographs entitled "A Hungarian Memory," which was published by Hyperion Press in 1980.

Physical Description
Photograph of a young woman climbing up a hill carrying two large buckets supported by a plank of wood.

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Collection Area
Photography

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
buckets (vessels)
coastal towns
documentary photography
houses
labor
villages
water resources