.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This is the only known print, made in Kertész's lifetime, of this image. It is not recorded in Phillips, Photographic Work of Kertész in France, CUNY, 1985.
In 1928 Kertész began using a Leica which altered the way he approached various subjects. No longer hindered by the slow pace of using sheet film or glass plates, Kertész was able to react quickly to the photo opportunities of fast-paced urban street life. As Greenough observes: 'by matching the speed and nimbleness of the Leica with his newfound desire to "catch life in the act," he could place increasing emphasis on capturing a fortuitous moment of time....when the obvious and mundane was transformed into the mysterious, enigmatic, or provocative.' (André Kertész, p.75)
While the present image carries a casual, snapshot feel of street photography, Kertész was known to be thrifty with his shooting, often waiting patiently for the image to take shape before snapping the shutter. Once in the darkroom, Kertész further achieved his vision by way of carefully cropping the final print, in this case, eliminating almost half of the image at left. In the resulting composition, with strong verticals and diagonals connected at the central axis point of the boy's football, an ordinary moment of Paris street life has been transformed into the photographic sublime.
In 1928 Kertész began using a Leica which altered the way he approached various subjects. No longer hindered by the slow pace of using sheet film or glass plates, Kertész was able to react quickly to the photo opportunities of fast-paced urban street life. As Greenough observes: 'by matching the speed and nimbleness of the Leica with his newfound desire to "catch life in the act," he could place increasing emphasis on capturing a fortuitous moment of time....when the obvious and mundane was transformed into the mysterious, enigmatic, or provocative.' (André Kertész, p.75)
While the present image carries a casual, snapshot feel of street photography, Kertész was known to be thrifty with his shooting, often waiting patiently for the image to take shape before snapping the shutter. Once in the darkroom, Kertész further achieved his vision by way of carefully cropping the final print, in this case, eliminating almost half of the image at left. In the resulting composition, with strong verticals and diagonals connected at the central axis point of the boy's football, an ordinary moment of Paris street life has been transformed into the photographic sublime.