André Kertész
1894–1985 · Hungary / France / United States
The poetry of small distances.
The story
Kertész began photographing in Hungary before settling in Paris and then New York. He approached reportage, street scenes, objects and portraits with an attention to relationships between forms and to quiet emotions. His viewpoints might be high, close or off-centre. His work shows how an intimate observation of everyday life can pass through several cities without becoming a tourist description of their monuments.
Understanding the work
Look for the relationship between two distant details: a shadow, a silhouette, a curve. Modest subjects gain significance through their position in the frame and what surrounds them.
Key works and series
La Fourchette; Distorsions; scenes of Paris and New York.
Sources & further exploration
Works in collections.
10 recordsPhotographs to explore on museum and library websites, with titles, dates and processes. Each link opens the collection record and its image where one is available.
