LOT Phillips de Pury & Company  /  PHOTOGRAPHS PART II  / 

100

HERBERT LIST (German, 1903-1975) DIE TREPPE ZUM HIMMEL (STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN)

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD
HERBERT LIST (German, 1903-1975) DIE TREPPE ZUM HIMMEL (STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN)
HERBERT LIST (German, 1903-1975) DIE TREPPE ZUM HIMMEL (STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN) "VINTAGE PRINT" signed estate stamp with title and date inscribed in black ink on verso gelatin silver print 15 3/8 x 10 7/8 in. (39.1 x 27.6 cm) 1949 printed 1955 PROVENANCE Estate of the artist, HAMBURG Private Collection, GERMANY LITERATURE HERBERT LIST: THE MONOGRAPH, Munich, 2000, p. 265 (illustrated) Leaving his surrealist tendencies behind, Herbert List adopted a more documentary style of photography in the years following World War II. Despite this shift, the artist still managed to extract magical moments from everyday life. A prime example of this achievement, the present work depicts the massive flight of stairs leading to the church of Santa Maria d'Aracoeli in Rome, hence the picture's poetic title. Masterfully cropped at either end, the image provides no indication of a beginning or an end. This suggestion of an endless, skyward ascension is only enhanced by the handful of human figures, who appear dwarfed against the expanse of stairs. "In this picture," observes Max Scheler, "over and above its strictly formal aspects, we perceive a metaphor: the steps stand for life's journey. A priest resolutely ascends the steep way to the Capitoline Hill - to heaven - while others pause on the difficult road" (Max Scheler, "Moments: From Single Shots to Photo-Essays," HERBERT LIST: THE MONOGRAPH, Munich: Schirmer/Mosel, 2000, p. 242).
Sign In to Bookmark Lot