Man Ray

tipped to a thick paper mount, signed and annotated 'Paris' in pencil on the mount, the photographer’s ‘31 bis, Rue Campagne Première, Paris, Littré 76-57’ studio stamp (Manford M4) and with title, date, and annotations in pencil on the reverse, framed, circa 1930

Collection of Thomas Walther, 2004

Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, 2005

This photograph is on double-weight paper with a semi-glossy surface. There is age-appropriate silvering in the darker areas. When viewed in raking light, a number of scuffs are visible across the surface of the print, none of which breaks the emulsion. A very faint horizontal indentation runs across the entire image, but is visible only upon close examination. There is a miniscule chip in the emulsion along the lower portion of the left edge, and the right portion of the bottom edge. While these issues bear mentioning, they do not detract in a measurable way from the overall fine appearance of the print. The print is attached at 3 corners to its original heavy paper mount which shows some wear, and is somewhat soiled and age-darkened.
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This image was taken during the making of Jean Cocteau’s first film, Le Sang d’un Poète (The Blood of the Poet), first shown publicly in 1932.  Cocteau, center, raises his arms towards his wire sculpture of a head, which appears as a recurring, shape-shifting motif in the film.  Standing behind Cocteau, and enacting a mysterious tableau, are Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles, the film’s patrons, and Georges Auric, its composer.  The film also featured Man Ray’s lover, the photographer Lee Miller, in her only on-screen appearance.  Other images from this session show Cocteau intently working on the wire-head sculpture (Man Ray 1890-1976, pp. 182-3).  

Le Sang d’un Poète was an experimental film, both in content and form, featuring a range of techniques to achieve special effects.  Editing, altered perspectives, and shooting in negative were all used by Cocteau to construct novel, visually exciting scenes.  Like Man Ray, Cocteau worked in a variety of media, and the two artists shared a desire to continually push the boundaries of their respective arts.

Man Ray met Cocteau in Paris in the early 1920s.  Although the two men were roughly the same age, Cocteau's standing within the artistic and social circles of Paris was well-established by the time of their meeting.  He was, as Man Ray described him, a ‘social idol,’ 'someone who knew everybody in Paris’ (Self-Portrait, p. 99).  It was through Cocteau's connections that Man Ray's business as a portrait photographer grew; with Cocteau's recommendations, the artistic elite of Paris came to Man Ray's studio.