Erwin Blumenfeld
Erwin Blumenfeld was born in Berlin in 1897, moved to The Netherlands late 1918, and started a professional career in photography in 1934. In the 1930s, he published collages mocking Adolf Hitler. He emigrated to France in 1936, where his work was published in the fine art magazine Verve. When the Second World War broke out, he was interned in a concentration camp in 1940 because he was Jewish. In 1941, he could escape to the USA.
His more personal work is in black and white; his commercial work in fashion, much for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, is mostly in color. In both media he was a great innovator. In black and white he did all his work personally in the dark room. Vintage gelatin silver prints from his negatives are extremely rare, since almost all of his later work was shot on transparency film.
Together with André Kertesz and Man Ray, Blumenfeld was an important pioneer on creative photography. He experimented with solarization, double exposures, negative-positive combinations and montages. His early photographs of Madonna sculptures can be considered as lessons in composition and moods. Four of them were published in the book "My 100 best photos" (1979).
Erwin Blumenfeld was born in Berlin in 1897, moved to The Netherlands late 1918, and started a professional career in photography in 1934. In the 1930s, he published collages mocking Adolf Hitler. He emigrated to France in 1936, where his work was published in the fine art magazine Verve. When the Second World War broke out, he was interned in a concentration camp in 1940 because he was Jewish. In 1941, he could escape to the USA.
His more personal work is in black and white; his commercial work in fashion, much for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, is mostly in color. In both media he was a great innovator. In black and white he did all his work personally in the dark room. Vintage gelatin silver prints from his negatives are extremely rare, since almost all of his later work was shot on transparency film.
Together with André Kertesz and Man Ray, Blumenfeld was an important pioneer on creative photography. He experimented with solarization, double exposures, negative-positive combinations and montages. His early photographs of Madonna sculptures can be considered as lessons in composition and moods. Four of them were published in the book "My 100 best photos" (1979).
Erwin Blumenfeld
1897 (Berlin, Germany)
1969 (Rome, Italy)
Dadaist, photographer
1897 (Berlin, Germany)
1969 (Rome, Italy)
Dadaist, photographer
Erwin Blumenfeld, cover for Vogue magazine, 1950
Erwin Blumenfeld, Notre Dame de Paris, vintage print, 1937
For sale in the i-vintage collection
For sale in the i-vintage collection