André Kertesz
André Kertesz ( born Andor Kertesz ) was a Hungarian photographer known mostly for his photojournalism and the art of photography while it was still within its infancy. His photographic life can be divided up into 4 segments; his life in Hungary, his life in Paris when it was known as the artistic capital of Europe, his time in America where he was to spend a considerable amount of his life and finally what is referred to as his international period.
Andor Kertesz was born in Budapest in 1894, the second of three sons by Lipot Kertesz and Ernesztin Hoffmann. His family had wanted him to become a stock broker. Kertesz took the job on however he was not totally enamoured with life as a stock broker although it was a job that paid well enough for him to buy his first camera. Kertesz was more in love with picture magazines, fishing and swimming. Such interests and pastoral surroundings are key to understanding Kertesz' photography.
In 1912, after purchasing his first camera, much to the protestations from his family who wished for him to continue his work in business, Kertesz would begin to take pictures of all that was around him. These would include local peasants, gypsies and the mountain plains/puszta. It is believed that his first work is called simply, "Sleeping Boy, Budapest," which was made in 1912. By 1914 however, he was drafted into the army. Kertesz' immediate thought was to bring his camera along with him where he would take many photos. These photographs were to be seen as the beginnings of a serious artist at work. Instead of what many photographs of that time during the First World War, Kertesz' photographs would detail what soldiers were doing away from their time fighting on the battlefronts.
While some of his photos were published in magazines, most notably for a magazine called Érdekes Újság, and even having some of his photos being made into postcards, the money he was making was not enough to support himself and his widowed mother therefore he had to go back and work at the stock exchange. It was around about this time that he would meet what would be then his future wife Erzsebet Saloman (who would later change her name to Elisabeth Saly). It was at this time that he had used Erzsebet as a model for his photographs as well as his younger brother. In 1925, however, he decided to move to Paris, enchanted with the idea of living the bohemian artist's life in what was then the artistic capital of Europe. He would leave behind his mother, his fiancée Elisabeth and brothers and make way for Paris.
He had wanted to go to Paris for a while but his mother had dissuaded him from doing so for many years so to be finally in Paris after Érdekes Újság used one of his photos on their front cover. Kertesz was in love with Paris and Paris was equally receptive to Kertesz. Working as a freelance photographer, Parisian publications would give him the chance to shoot many great artists including Soviet film director, Sergei Eisenstein. He was in good company as many other Hungarian artists had emigrated to Paris at the time including Man Ray, Robert Capa and Julia Bathory. He had found critical and commercial success while in Paris and was the first man to have a one man exhibition as thirty of his photographs were shown in by Jan Slivinsky at the Sacré du Printemps Gallery.
He found his best journalistic partnership while in Paris through Frenchman, Lucien Vogel who would publish Kertesz' work as photojournalistic essays. The wide array of topics with which Vogel assigned to Kertesz always kept him busy and intrigued him endlessly. The majority of these photographs were published in Vu and Art et Médecins. In 1933, he was commisioned to work on the Distortions photo series. In this series, Kertesz had two female models to pose nude through distorted glass. The effect was to give a carnival hall of mirrors effect. These were to be published in magazines such as Le Sourire and Arts et métiers graphiques. He was to publish this work and another of his works called Enfants.
By this time, Kertesz had been back to Hungary for a short time in which he finally married Elisabeth and with this they were to live together in Paris. Such was his love or Elisabeth that he would spend all of his time with her instead of going out with his artist friends. In 1936, with a drop off in income due to Kertesz' apolitical stance when magazines themselves were publishing intensely political material and the increasing prevalence of Nazi Germany and execution of Jews (Kertesz himself was Jewish), André and Elisabeth had packed their bags and emigrated once again to America. This was to be a new stage of their lives. One that was not always as welcoming as the Parisian stage of his life.
America was tough on Kertesz. It was harder than he had imagined it would be. Firstly, the language was a problem. He had spent years learning French and now having to start from scratch again prove to be difficult. Secondly, many Americans didn't like having their photo taken. It was too invasive for a complete stranger to come up to them and take their photograph. Such matters seemed completely unreal for Kertesz. It compounded his feelings of being an outsider even more than he would want. He would also be deeply hurt by criticism of his work by Americans. Beaumont Newhall in particular was quite critical of his Distortions photographs when Kertesz had offered them as part of an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.
More than anything else, the Second World War harmed Kertesz while he was living in New York. When America joined the war in 1941, Kertesz and his wife were made enemy aliens due to the fact that Hungary were fighting with Germany and therefore Kertesz was unable to find work. However just 3 years later, his wife gained US citizenship and in so doing, André himself was naturalised. Soon with his wife's cosmetic business booming, things were looking up for Kertesz as he would get commissioned to work with a lucrative contract with House and Garden magazine. However he felt stifled by the contract as it gave him little room to be artistically creative.
In 1952, after moving into an apartment in the Washington Square Park, Kertesz set about photographing a snow covered Washington Square. Many regard these photos as the most striking and best photographs from his American period however they were cruelly snubbed by the Museum of Modern Art in 1955. To Kertesz, this was hugely insulting. It would be 7 more years before he gained another exhibition. By which time, it was time to look for pastures anew.
After a minor dispute in 1961, Kertesz broke his contract with Condé Nast and began working on his own. This saw him travel the world and what would become his international period. It was in 1964 that Kertesz' profile was on the rise when John Szarkowski would feature a solo exhibition of Kertesz' work and from there, Kertesz would be appointed as a member of the American Society of Media Photographers. Awards would pile up and Polaroid would give their SX-70 camera to Kertesz with which he experimented with in his later life. All this would give the recognition Kertesz felt that had been missing in his earlier life.
Kertesz has been an unsung hero in the terms of photography. Rarely has his work been praised even when he passed away in 1985. Kertesz himself felt he was underappreciated and although he was the first photographer to have a solo exhibition in 1927, it wasn't until his exhibition in 1946 in the Chicago Art Institute where he felt that he had been recognised to some extent. Kertesz never really got bad reviews, in fact it was the lack of them that made him feel somewhat isolated from being recognised at all. One of the main problems for Kertesz was that he was very apolitical. However these days, André Kertesz is rightly considered one of the founding fathers of photojournalism. As the famous French photographer and painter Henri Cartier-Bresson remarked of Kertesz, "We all owe him a great deal," to which there can be no finer praise.
Andor Kertesz was born in Budapest in 1894, the second of three sons by Lipot Kertesz and Ernesztin Hoffmann. His family had wanted him to become a stock broker. Kertesz took the job on however he was not totally enamoured with life as a stock broker although it was a job that paid well enough for him to buy his first camera. Kertesz was more in love with picture magazines, fishing and swimming. Such interests and pastoral surroundings are key to understanding Kertesz' photography.
In 1912, after purchasing his first camera, much to the protestations from his family who wished for him to continue his work in business, Kertesz would begin to take pictures of all that was around him. These would include local peasants, gypsies and the mountain plains/puszta. It is believed that his first work is called simply, "Sleeping Boy, Budapest," which was made in 1912. By 1914 however, he was drafted into the army. Kertesz' immediate thought was to bring his camera along with him where he would take many photos. These photographs were to be seen as the beginnings of a serious artist at work. Instead of what many photographs of that time during the First World War, Kertesz' photographs would detail what soldiers were doing away from their time fighting on the battlefronts.
While some of his photos were published in magazines, most notably for a magazine called Érdekes Újság, and even having some of his photos being made into postcards, the money he was making was not enough to support himself and his widowed mother therefore he had to go back and work at the stock exchange. It was around about this time that he would meet what would be then his future wife Erzsebet Saloman (who would later change her name to Elisabeth Saly). It was at this time that he had used Erzsebet as a model for his photographs as well as his younger brother. In 1925, however, he decided to move to Paris, enchanted with the idea of living the bohemian artist's life in what was then the artistic capital of Europe. He would leave behind his mother, his fiancée Elisabeth and brothers and make way for Paris.
He had wanted to go to Paris for a while but his mother had dissuaded him from doing so for many years so to be finally in Paris after Érdekes Újság used one of his photos on their front cover. Kertesz was in love with Paris and Paris was equally receptive to Kertesz. Working as a freelance photographer, Parisian publications would give him the chance to shoot many great artists including Soviet film director, Sergei Eisenstein. He was in good company as many other Hungarian artists had emigrated to Paris at the time including Man Ray, Robert Capa and Julia Bathory. He had found critical and commercial success while in Paris and was the first man to have a one man exhibition as thirty of his photographs were shown in by Jan Slivinsky at the Sacré du Printemps Gallery.
He found his best journalistic partnership while in Paris through Frenchman, Lucien Vogel who would publish Kertesz' work as photojournalistic essays. The wide array of topics with which Vogel assigned to Kertesz always kept him busy and intrigued him endlessly. The majority of these photographs were published in Vu and Art et Médecins. In 1933, he was commisioned to work on the Distortions photo series. In this series, Kertesz had two female models to pose nude through distorted glass. The effect was to give a carnival hall of mirrors effect. These were to be published in magazines such as Le Sourire and Arts et métiers graphiques. He was to publish this work and another of his works called Enfants.
By this time, Kertesz had been back to Hungary for a short time in which he finally married Elisabeth and with this they were to live together in Paris. Such was his love or Elisabeth that he would spend all of his time with her instead of going out with his artist friends. In 1936, with a drop off in income due to Kertesz' apolitical stance when magazines themselves were publishing intensely political material and the increasing prevalence of Nazi Germany and execution of Jews (Kertesz himself was Jewish), André and Elisabeth had packed their bags and emigrated once again to America. This was to be a new stage of their lives. One that was not always as welcoming as the Parisian stage of his life.
America was tough on Kertesz. It was harder than he had imagined it would be. Firstly, the language was a problem. He had spent years learning French and now having to start from scratch again prove to be difficult. Secondly, many Americans didn't like having their photo taken. It was too invasive for a complete stranger to come up to them and take their photograph. Such matters seemed completely unreal for Kertesz. It compounded his feelings of being an outsider even more than he would want. He would also be deeply hurt by criticism of his work by Americans. Beaumont Newhall in particular was quite critical of his Distortions photographs when Kertesz had offered them as part of an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.
More than anything else, the Second World War harmed Kertesz while he was living in New York. When America joined the war in 1941, Kertesz and his wife were made enemy aliens due to the fact that Hungary were fighting with Germany and therefore Kertesz was unable to find work. However just 3 years later, his wife gained US citizenship and in so doing, André himself was naturalised. Soon with his wife's cosmetic business booming, things were looking up for Kertesz as he would get commissioned to work with a lucrative contract with House and Garden magazine. However he felt stifled by the contract as it gave him little room to be artistically creative.
In 1952, after moving into an apartment in the Washington Square Park, Kertesz set about photographing a snow covered Washington Square. Many regard these photos as the most striking and best photographs from his American period however they were cruelly snubbed by the Museum of Modern Art in 1955. To Kertesz, this was hugely insulting. It would be 7 more years before he gained another exhibition. By which time, it was time to look for pastures anew.
After a minor dispute in 1961, Kertesz broke his contract with Condé Nast and began working on his own. This saw him travel the world and what would become his international period. It was in 1964 that Kertesz' profile was on the rise when John Szarkowski would feature a solo exhibition of Kertesz' work and from there, Kertesz would be appointed as a member of the American Society of Media Photographers. Awards would pile up and Polaroid would give their SX-70 camera to Kertesz with which he experimented with in his later life. All this would give the recognition Kertesz felt that had been missing in his earlier life.
Kertesz has been an unsung hero in the terms of photography. Rarely has his work been praised even when he passed away in 1985. Kertesz himself felt he was underappreciated and although he was the first photographer to have a solo exhibition in 1927, it wasn't until his exhibition in 1946 in the Chicago Art Institute where he felt that he had been recognised to some extent. Kertesz never really got bad reviews, in fact it was the lack of them that made him feel somewhat isolated from being recognised at all. One of the main problems for Kertesz was that he was very apolitical. However these days, André Kertesz is rightly considered one of the founding fathers of photojournalism. As the famous French photographer and painter Henri Cartier-Bresson remarked of Kertesz, "We all owe him a great deal," to which there can be no finer praise.
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