Chez Mondrian

Date1926

Maker Andre Kertesz American, 1894 - 1985

Label TextKertész was a Hungarian-born photographer who lived in Paris in the early 1930s before moving to the United States in the middle of the decade. While in Paris, he befriended a group of artists including Marc Chagall, Alexander Calder, and Piet Mondrian. Kertész took photographic portraits of his fellow artists. This photograph is an oblique 'portrait' of Mondrian, suggesting the painter by showing his home and evoking the complicated compositions of his paintings. The work is a study in contrasts: straight versus curved, light versus dark, smooth versus textured.

Object number81.99

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, 200 Photographs from the Museum Collection, Dec. 8, 1983 - Feb. 5, 1984. Text by Rod Slemmons. No cat. no. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Dis-Figured, May 31, 2001 - Mar. 17, 2002.

Credit LineGift of Dr. R. Joseph Monsen and Dr. Elaine R. Monsen

Dimensions9 3/4 x 7 1/2 in. (24.8 x 19 cm) Sheet w.: 8 1/16 in.

MediumGelatin silver print