From the Eiffel Tower, Paris

Accession Number
2011/2.166

Title
From the Eiffel Tower, Paris

Artist(s)
André Kertész

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1929

Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper

Dimensions
8 in x 9 15/16 in (20.32 cm x 25.24 cm)

Credit Line
Museum Purchase

Subject matter
In stark contrast to traditional representations of the Eiffel Tower, André Kertész relegates the iconic Parisian symbol to the upper margins of his photograph where it serves as a framing device rather than primary subject matter. Offering the viewer only a teasing glimpse of the tower itself, Kertész instead situates the shadows cast by its wrought iron lattice work in the center of the image. This oblique, birds-eye view of the people that mill about beneath the structure is enabled by the photographer's elevated position within the structure itself, suggesting that the photograph is as much about the process of taking the picture, and the photographer's creative vision, as what is depicted.

Physical Description
A black and white photograph of the area beneath the Eiffel Tower. A shadow from an arch of the structure covers most of the ground. A crowd of people stand beneath the tower.

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
aerial photography
modern (generic time frame)
parks (grounds)
towers (single built works)
wrought iron (iron alloy)

21 Related Resources

Architecture in Photography 1900-1948
(Part of 7 Learning Collections)
Art of interest to Judaic Studies
(Part of 3 Learning Collections)
Monuments and Memorials
(Part of 4 Learning Collections)
Paris, Scenes and Artists, 19th and 20th Centuries
(Part of 4 Learning Collections)
Technology and Modernity in Photography 1900-1948
(Part of 3 Learning Collections)
The City in Photography 1900-1948
(Part of 8 Learning Collections)
The Modern Metropolis
(Part of 7 Learning Collections)
Visual Forms of the Avant Garde - a survey
(Part of 3 Learning Collections)
The Crowd
(Part of 8 Learning Collections)
Tourism
(Part of 9 Learning Collections)
Jewish Photographers 
(Part of: Ethnicity and Race)
André Kertész
(Part of: Modern Jewish Photography F22 - Dash Moore)
Shadows as Subjects
(Part of: F22 Deborah Dash Moore JUDAIC 379 Photography Exhibition)
Structures and Streets: Scales of the Modern Metropolis
(Part of: F22 Deborah Dash Moore JUDAIC 379 Photography Exhibition)

& Author Notes

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