A Very Private View

Some time, in or around 1900, after his release from prison, Oscar Wilde travelled to Taormina in Sicily. What drew him there was not so much the 'paradise on earth' of the place itself, but rather the homoerotic photographs of the German Wilhelm von Gloedon [1856 - 1931] who, in residence on the island, had established a reputation for transforming pictures of working-class Sicilian boys into beautifully composed images of antique legend.

Wilhelm von Gloedon, two young men, Taormina, Sicily

Wilhelm von Gloedon: 'Three Graces' 1890 Taormina, Sicily

What drew us to the Szépmúveszeti Múzeum so very recently was an invitation to a personal, private tour to be given by our friend, and museum guide, Angéla Kiss, of the current exhibition 'The Birth of Art Photography - From Pictoralism to Modern Photography 1889 - 1929'. Which did, as might be expected, feature the work of Wilhelm von Gloedon.

approach to the exhibition with poster 'Composition' 1925 by Rudolf Koppitz

entrance of the museum with poster 'Gloria Swanson' 1924 by Edward Steichen 

'Portal to Szépmúveszeti Múzeum' 2012 by Jane R. Hattatt

But so much more besides. From early pastoral scenes, with figures carefully arranged almost in replication of a Victorian water colour, to the comparative modernism of photographers whose later work bears all the hallmarks of the Cubist painters, some images are forever iconic. Not least among these is 'Steerage' by Alfred Steiglitz, dating from 1907.

the iconic photograph 'Steerage' 1907 by Alfred Steiglitz

Here the photographer captures a single moment on a trans-Atlantic liner. The image,  as if constructed in the way of a series of triangles and geometric shapes, conspires to elevate the poor and the dispossessed into something which transcends the everyday. Light shines on the boater of the onlooker, is reflected on the central gangplank, is caught on the crossed braces of the figure below deck and, yet again, is to be found illuminating the washing hung out to dry. This surely is art!

'Fork' 1928 by André Kertész [chosen with PGdeB and GC in mind]

Similarly, Hungarian born André Kertész, explores the area of Still Life with his 'Fork' of 1928. A simple household object becomes the focus of a picture where light and shadow interact in a way that the entire composition moves the observer from the now to the surreal. Or, as has been described, to a moment of 'formal poetry'.

portrait of Greta Garbo 1928 by Edward Steichen

Elsewhere the most striking portrait of Greta Garbo by Edward Steichen imposes all the presence of that formidable figure. By contrast, the experiment with movement by Jacques-Henri Lartique sees figures hastening through the Bois de Boulogne and speeding racing cars competing in some long forgotten Grand Prix.

Angéla Kiss, friend and guide, seen in the museum entrance

And how salutary all of this is. We look at our own photographs. We look again. Do we see a fusion of Kertész and Koppitz, of Steichen and Stieglitz? Is there a look of Lartique, a glimpse of Gloedon? Alas no. Most definitely not!