Man Ray

mounted, signed and dated in pencil on the mount, the photographer's ‘31 bis, Rue Campagne Premiére, Paris XIVe’ studio stamp (Manford M6) and his ‘copyright’ (M13) and ‘reproduction interdite’ (M14) stamps on the reverse, framed, 1930

Christie’s New York, 27 April 2004, Sale 1367, Lot 49

Edwynn Houk Gallery, acquired from the above

Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, 2005

Man Ray: Nus (Paris: Galerie Octant, 1986), unpaginated

Katherine Ware and Peter Barbarie, Dreaming in Black and White: Photography at the Julien Levy Gallery (Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2006), pl. 36, p. 64

Emmanuelle de l'Ecotais and Alain Sayag, eds., Man Ray: Photography and Its Double (Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, 1998), pp. 148-9 (variants)

As is so frequently the case with Man Ray's photographs, there is – from a technical standpoint – more going on in this image than immediately meets the eye. It is, of course, a skillful double exposure of a nude, with her lower arms carefully obscured. Man Ray took the additional step of solarizing each nude, as evidenced by the dark outline surrounding each form. The result is a thoroughly surreal approach to classic artistic subject matter. This print is on double-weight paper with a matte surface and a pleasing slightly warm tonality. It is in near excellent condition. When examined very closely in high raking light, a very small triangular indentation can be seen just above the base of the platform upon which the nude is posed. There is very minor wear on the corners. None of these issues is immediately apparent. The photograph is mounted to a sheet of stiff off-white paper with two deckled edges. The font of the mount shows some discoloration along the bottom edge, and very minor occasional soiling. There is a small tear in the right portion of the mount's lower edge. The print is pulling away from the mount very slightly at the upper left corner. On the reverse of the mount are some losses to the top paper ply, and two discreet remnants of tape, suggesting that it may at one point have been affixed to a secondary mount.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This complex and multi-layered photograph, Man Ray’s Surreal synthesis of live model and sculpted figure, reinterprets the classical nude for the modern age.  Using a dark cloth, a simple plinth, solarization, and multiple exposures, Man Ray has created a new Venus de Milo, one possessing a sensuous corporeality.

The print offered here originates from a series of images of a model whose arms Man Ray has wrapped in dark cloth, then photographed behind a plinth.  At least four negatives were made during this session, all reproduced in Man Ray: Photography and its Double (p. 148).  Man Ray selected the best of these poses, then exposed the negative onto a sheet of photographic paper twice, in different sizes.  He skillfully aligned the two different-sized torsos along their left edges; in this way, the two figures amplify rather than obscure one another. Man Ray accentuated the model’s curves using his famous technique of solarization, which involved briefly exposing a print to light in the darkroom during the development process.    

The double-exposure Surimpression became the point of departure for the signature plate in Man Ray’s Electricité portfolio of 1931.  In the portfolio image, Man Ray has focused more tightly upon the subject’s double torso, cropping out her head and superimposing on the negative the vibrating lines of faux electric current.  From live model, to double-exposure, to portfolio gravure, Surimpression is a superb example of Man Ray’s ability to revisit and transform his work.  It takes its place among Man Ray’s many, frequently erotically-charged, studies of the female torso from hip to shoulders.

It is believed that Surimpression was included in Julien Levy’s 1932 exhibition, Photographs by Man Ray, the photographer’s first one-man show in New York; the Levy Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art has a print of the image.   This important Levy exhibition predates the more famous Wadsworth Athenaeum Man Ray show, sponsored by James Thrall Soby, in 1934.