Accession Number
1976/2.14

Title
Chez Mondrian, Paris

Artist(s)
André Kertész

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1926

Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper

Dimensions
9 15/16 in x 8 in (25.24 cm x 20.32 cm);19 5/16 in x 14 5/16 in (49.05 cm x 36.35 cm);9 15/16 in x 8 in (25.24 cm x 20.32 cm);9 3/4 in x 7 5/16 in (24.77 cm x 18.57 cm)

Credit Line
Museum Purchase

Subject matter
This photograph was taken shortly after Kertész arrived in Paris, when he visited the studio of Dutch abstract painter Piet Mondrian. Kertész later wrote that he sought to capture the simplicity of Mondrian's work in this photograph. The image is divided into two halves by the vertical strip of wood on the door frame. On the left, one sees a table, on which sits an artificial flower that Mondrian painted to match the studio environment, as well as a round hat perched on a hook (apparently belonging to Michel Seuphor, a friend of the photographer's who wrote a book on Mondrian). Through the doorway, the right half of the photograph is dominated by the lower steps of a curving staircase that disappears behind the wall. Despite Mondrian's interest in rigid geometry. Kertész communicates the artist's calm simplicity with a range of rectilinear and round forms accentuated with deep shadows.

Physical Description
Photograph of the interior of a room, with a flower in a vase on a table, a hat perched on a hook on the wall behind it, and, through a doorway, a view of the bottom steps of a curved staircase.

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
abstraction
flowers (plant components)
interior spaces (spaces by location)
stairs
still lifes
vases