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Lot Essay
This simple silhouette traces the unmistakable profile of the legendary Kiki of Montparnasse. Here Man Ray has taken an early Rayograph from 1922, and used it as a paper negative to produce this wholly new Rayograph. Without having to make a negative Man Ray has inverted the values in the present Rayograph, rendering an approximate life-sized graphic image of Kiki's head.
Soon after Man Ray arrived in Paris, in July of 1921, he met Kiki, then about twenty years of age. Kiki de Montparnasse (1901–1953) over that decade was a singer (recorded and published), a successful self-taught artist, an author, and a celebrated artists' model. She was, in the 1920s, the queen of the Paris left bank, at least to the avant-garde. Born Alice Prin, she has been made legend through the photographs Man Ray made of her, such as the iconic Le Violon d'Ingres, 1924, and Noire et blanche, 1925–1926. He also made a handful of Rayographs of her, indeed they made some together in their hotel room on the Rue Delambre, in the early months of 1922.
When the photograph was last offered at auction in 1989, it was not known whether this print was unique, with questions surrounding its context left unanswered. However, new research here sheds fresh light on the origins and history of this Rayograph.
In 1929 Kiki published her memoirs, entitled Kiki Souvenirs (Paris: Henri Broca, 1929). By this time the two had parted ways. The volume, illustrated with a number of Man Ray's photographs, was a great success. Translated into English, copies bound for distribution in the United States were frequently seized, despite being reviewed in the respectable New York Times (September 28, 1930). Not surprisingly, this notoriety in later years lead to the unauthorized publication of a semi-fictional version in paperback, under the suggestive title 'The Education of a French Model.' Given such interest Kiki began work on a second autobiography, gathering ephemera, drawings, and photographs. The manuscript and illustrations were ready by 1938. Among the new images assembled was a Rayograph of her profile, identical to the work offered here.
It is strongly believed that it was Kiki's request to Man Ray for suitable, unseen images that brought about the making of the two Rayographs for her planned second memoir. From his files Man Ray used the original profile, making two Rayographs by way of contact printing. The first he gave to Kiki for her book, and the second, the work offered here, he kept with the original for the rest of his life.
Kiki's second memoirs were never published, and with war and the invasion of France the dossier was forgotten, and hidden away for decades. In 2004 the Paris dealer Serge Plantureux unearthed the archive, publishing the material in 2005 under the title 'Souvenirs retouvés de Kiki de Montparnasse' (Paris: José Corti, 2005).
In its reporting on the prior sale of this Rayograph in 1989, here in these very salerooms, The Print Collector's Newsletter issue of July-August 1989 (pp. 94-95), documented some of the issues raised at the time. Foremost, it was argued that because the work was made from a film negative, an assertion which is itself not likely to be correct, it could not be considered an 'original' Rayograph. Yet there are 'original' Rayographs that feature enlarged images made from negatives, while other Rayographs were created with negatives laid directly upon the photographic paper. Adding to the confusion is the fact that the present work is annotated by Man Ray, and stamped ORIGINAL, with a stamp primarily used by Man Ray to denote the traditionally unique Rayograph.
Among the more notable assertions in the 1989 newsletter was the claim that a pencil inscription of the words ‘not original’ had been erased from the verso corner. A close examination suggests that the handwriting in pencil, likely that of Man Ray, actually reads ‘from original.’ This finding aligns with the belief that the two versions were made by contact printing alone. Indeed no corresponding or related negatives have been located in the Fonds Man Ray, at the Centre Pompidou.
This work had been formerly in the collection of the Milan dealer Arturo Schwarz. Few knew Man Ray's work as well as Schwarz. Having been introduced to Man Ray in the late 1950s, Schwarz would go on to represent Man Ray, produce numerous editions, undertake many solo exhibitions, and publish serious monographs, most notably the essential reference 'Man Ray: The Rigour of Imagination' (New York: Rizzoli, 1977).
This work will be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné of the Rayographs being prepared by Steven Manford.
We thank Steven Manford, Man Ray Research Scholar, for contributing this essay, and for sharing his research on the other Man Ray works being offered.
Soon after Man Ray arrived in Paris, in July of 1921, he met Kiki, then about twenty years of age. Kiki de Montparnasse (1901–1953) over that decade was a singer (recorded and published), a successful self-taught artist, an author, and a celebrated artists' model. She was, in the 1920s, the queen of the Paris left bank, at least to the avant-garde. Born Alice Prin, she has been made legend through the photographs Man Ray made of her, such as the iconic Le Violon d'Ingres, 1924, and Noire et blanche, 1925–1926. He also made a handful of Rayographs of her, indeed they made some together in their hotel room on the Rue Delambre, in the early months of 1922.
When the photograph was last offered at auction in 1989, it was not known whether this print was unique, with questions surrounding its context left unanswered. However, new research here sheds fresh light on the origins and history of this Rayograph.
In 1929 Kiki published her memoirs, entitled Kiki Souvenirs (Paris: Henri Broca, 1929). By this time the two had parted ways. The volume, illustrated with a number of Man Ray's photographs, was a great success. Translated into English, copies bound for distribution in the United States were frequently seized, despite being reviewed in the respectable New York Times (September 28, 1930). Not surprisingly, this notoriety in later years lead to the unauthorized publication of a semi-fictional version in paperback, under the suggestive title 'The Education of a French Model.' Given such interest Kiki began work on a second autobiography, gathering ephemera, drawings, and photographs. The manuscript and illustrations were ready by 1938. Among the new images assembled was a Rayograph of her profile, identical to the work offered here.
It is strongly believed that it was Kiki's request to Man Ray for suitable, unseen images that brought about the making of the two Rayographs for her planned second memoir. From his files Man Ray used the original profile, making two Rayographs by way of contact printing. The first he gave to Kiki for her book, and the second, the work offered here, he kept with the original for the rest of his life.
Kiki's second memoirs were never published, and with war and the invasion of France the dossier was forgotten, and hidden away for decades. In 2004 the Paris dealer Serge Plantureux unearthed the archive, publishing the material in 2005 under the title 'Souvenirs retouvés de Kiki de Montparnasse' (Paris: José Corti, 2005).
In its reporting on the prior sale of this Rayograph in 1989, here in these very salerooms, The Print Collector's Newsletter issue of July-August 1989 (pp. 94-95), documented some of the issues raised at the time. Foremost, it was argued that because the work was made from a film negative, an assertion which is itself not likely to be correct, it could not be considered an 'original' Rayograph. Yet there are 'original' Rayographs that feature enlarged images made from negatives, while other Rayographs were created with negatives laid directly upon the photographic paper. Adding to the confusion is the fact that the present work is annotated by Man Ray, and stamped ORIGINAL, with a stamp primarily used by Man Ray to denote the traditionally unique Rayograph.
Among the more notable assertions in the 1989 newsletter was the claim that a pencil inscription of the words ‘not original’ had been erased from the verso corner. A close examination suggests that the handwriting in pencil, likely that of Man Ray, actually reads ‘from original.’ This finding aligns with the belief that the two versions were made by contact printing alone. Indeed no corresponding or related negatives have been located in the Fonds Man Ray, at the Centre Pompidou.
This work had been formerly in the collection of the Milan dealer Arturo Schwarz. Few knew Man Ray's work as well as Schwarz. Having been introduced to Man Ray in the late 1950s, Schwarz would go on to represent Man Ray, produce numerous editions, undertake many solo exhibitions, and publish serious monographs, most notably the essential reference 'Man Ray: The Rigour of Imagination' (New York: Rizzoli, 1977).
This work will be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné of the Rayographs being prepared by Steven Manford.
We thank Steven Manford, Man Ray Research Scholar, for contributing this essay, and for sharing his research on the other Man Ray works being offered.