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ERWIN BLUMENFELD (American, 1897-1969) UNTITLED (PARIS) Blumenfeld estate stamp in black ink on...

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ERWIN BLUMENFELD (American, 1897-1969) UNTITLED (PARIS) Blumenfeld estate stamp in black ink on...
ERWIN BLUMENFELD (American, 1897-1969) UNTITLED (PARIS) Blumenfeld estate stamp in black ink on verso inscribed "solarized nude, hd-printed by Erwin Blumenfeld in 1949 - Negative 1943 Yorick Blumenfeld" in pencil on verso numerical notations in pencil on verso solarized gelatin silver print 13 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. (34.3 x 26.7 cm) circa 1943 printed 1949 PROVENANCE Yorick Blumenfeld Sander Gallery, NEW YORK Private Collection, FRANCE LITERATURE Yorick Blumenfeld, THE NAKED AND THE VEILED: THE PHOTOGRAPHIC NUDES OF ERWIN BLUMENFELD, LONDON, 1999, p. 29 (illustrated) Blumenfeld considered his studies of the female nude to be some of his most important work. Created without commercial motives, they allowed him to experiment with different aesthetics and darkroom techniques. He created his first great nudes in his studio at 9 rue Delambre, around the corner from the famous Café du Dôme, which was frequented by women who were willing to model, as well as by many artists involved in the surrealist movement. Although the present work was printed in New York, there is debate regarding where and when this image was taken. The inscription on the verso states it was taken in New York, but Yorick Blumenfeld, who inscribed the photograph, also included it in his book THE NAKED AND THE VEILED: THE PHOTOGRAPHIC NUDES OF ERWIN BLUMENFELD (1999), with the caption "Paris 1938." One might at least consider this work reminiscent of the work he did in Paris. Although influenced and inspired by Man Ray and Edward Weston, Blumenfeld had little emotional connection with his models. His images of the female form were "driven by his dreams rather than his desires" (Yorick Blumenfeld, p. 17). His prints were largely reworked in the darkroom, where he was able to actualize his dreams and fantasies. As illustrated in this photograph, Blumenfeld often found a model's face distracting, as it interfered with his dreams. Although he could have chosen to portray a revealing frontal nude, he found anonymous backs or veiled bodies more sensual and suggestive. Through the solarization process, also known as the Sabattier effect, Blumenfeld was able to create this unreal creature that appears to be floating as if pulled from a dream. The technique interrupts the partial development of a negative with a momentary exposure to light, then development is completed. As illustrated so grandly by this print, this technique created nudes that "hovered between flesh and stone, between skin and plaster. Woman was seldom just a woman. Her flesh was not always flesh. She did not always seem to inhabit a living, breathing body" (Yorick Blumenfeld, p. 20).
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