Chez Mondrian, 1926
Gelatin silver print
10.9 x 7.9 cm (4-5/16x 3-1/8 in.)
86.XM.706.10

Paris had been considered the world capital of art for fify years before Kertesz arrived there from Budapest in September 1925, almost simultaneously with Berenice Abbott's discovery of Atget (related to-->> 170, 185). Kertesz dined at the cafe Le Dome, where other expatriates gathered, including Brassai , Sergei Eisenstein, Michel Seuphor, and Piet Mondrian. Through Seuphor, he met Mondrian and gained the opportunity to photograph him and his studio. Kertesz described for a friend the shaping of this composition, which is mortised and tenoned in light: "The door to [Mondrian's] staircase was always shut, but as I opened it in my mind's eye the two sights started to present themselves as two halves of an interesting image that I thought should be unified. I Ieft the door open, but to get what I wanted I had to move a sofa." Kertesz called himself a "naturalist Surrealist" because of his skill at recording a scene as he found it, though he was not afraid to eliminate an intrusive visual element, such as the sofa.
(ANDRE KERTESZ related to-->> Japanese)

related: web site -->>
• Masters of Photography