Men of Santa Anna, Michoacan

Accession Number
1971/2.126.5

Title
Men of Santa Anna, Michoacan

Artist(s)
Paul Strand

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1933, printed 1967

Medium & Support
photogravure on paper

Dimensions
15 3/4 in x 12 3/8 in (40 cm x 31.4 cm);6 5/16 in x 4 7/8 in (16.1 cm x 12.4 cm);15 7/8 in x 12 3/8 in (40.3 cm x 31.5 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Philip C. Davis through the Friends of the Museum of Art

Subject matter
This photograph depicts two men in Santa Anna, Michoacan, Mexico. The man on the right stands, leaning into a door frame. He wears a straw hat and white clothing, with a dark belt around his waist. The man on the left appears slightly older than his companion, with a gray handlebar moustache revealing his older age. He sits against the outer wall of the building, his arms crossed over his chest. He too wears all light-colored clothing with a dark belt. Both men's eyes narrow in on the camera, even though they are unaware that they are the subjects of the photograph. Strand used a prism lens to disguise his intentions when photographing his human subjects during his time in Mexico. In order to capture his images of people his lens directed the light at a right angle, while appearing to shoot from the front.

This photograph is from Paul Strand's The Mexican Portfolio published in 1967 by Paul Strand. The portfolio consists of a series of 20 images depicting Mexico's people, architecture, landscape, and churches. It was first published in 1940 under the name Photographs of Mexico, and reprinted under Strand's supervision in 1967 as The Mexican Portfolio

Physical Description
This photograph depicts two men, one standing in a doorway, and one sitting. Their facial expressions appear serious and skeptical.

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
Mexico
buildings
door components
double portraits
hats
men (male humans)
modern and contemporary art
moustaches
seated
shirts (main garments)
standing
sun hats
trousers

& Author Notes

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