Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-07-26)

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Legends

of photography

I

n1907,aged10,Erwin

Blumenfeldreceived

hisfirstcamera;it was

fromhisUncleCarl.He

explained,‘Myreallifestarted

withthediscoveryofchemical

magic,theplayoflightand

shade,thetwo-edgedproblem

of negative and positive.

Erwin

Blumenfeld

I hada goodphotographer’s

eyerightfromthestart.’

ButBlumenfeld’sjourney

tobecominga world-class

photographerwasfar

fromsmooth.

Hithardbythedeaths

ofhisfather,fromsyphilis,

and brother Heinz, at war,

In 1936 hemovedto

Parisand,thankstoa

recommendationfrom

legendaryfashion

photographerCecilBeaton,

Blumenfeldbeganshootingfor

FrenchVog uein1938.Owing

tohisJewishheritage,hewas

internedinconcentration

campsintheearlyyearsof

theSecondWorldWar,buthe

finallymanagedtomovehis

familytotheUSA,arriving in

August1941.

Almostimmediately

Blumenfeldgotworkfrom

Harper’sBazaarandshareda

NewYorkCitystudiowiththe

Hungary-bornphotographer

MartinMunkácsi.After

establishinghisownNYC

studioin1943,Blumenfeld

becamesoughtafterasa

fashionphotographerandshot

forHarper’sBazaar,Look,

LIFE,Vog ueandmanymore.

Inthemid-1950sheveered

towardsadvertisingwork

andshotforthelikesof

L’Oréal,ElizabethArden

andHelenaRubenstein.

The‘fiveglove’imageshown

herewasshotforVog uein

1950 and– liketheworkofhis

contemporariessuchasIrving

Penn,NormanParkinsonand

HorstP Horst– it couldeasily

havebeenshotyesterday,such

is thetimelessnatureof

Blumenfeld’sphotographs.

Blumenfelddiedofa

self-inducedheartattack

inRomein1969,buthalfa

centurylaterhedeserveshis

placeamongthetruegreatsof

fashionphotography.Ina 1958

issueofUSmagazinePopular

Photography, Blumenfeld

wrote,‘CurrentlyI am

absorbedinmagazineand

advertisingillustrationand

I remainastrueanamateur

asI wasat10.Thewonderthat

thecameracanreallyproduce

anythingshowntoit still

astoundsme.’Hisinnovative

bodyofworkstillastounds

today,mainlythrough

regularexhibitions

around the world.

SteveFaircloughonthecareerthat

earnedErwinBlumenfelda placeinthe

pantheon of fashion photographers

Blumenfeldplannedtodesert

theGermanarmybeforebeing

reportedbyhisUncleBruno.

In 1918 hemovedtothe

Netherlandsand,after

dalliancesintheworldsof

fashionandDadaism,in

1921 hesetupa leathergoods

shopinAmsterdamand

startedtakingphotographs,

whichhedevelopedina

darkroomthathediscovered

atthebackoftheshop.

Hecontinuedtoliveinthe

Netherlandsforsomeyears

andhadhisfirstexhibitionsin

1932 and 1934 inAmsterdam.

In1935,hisfirstpublished

photograph– a portraitofTara

Twain– wasinArtsetMétiers

Graphiquesmagazine,butit

wasonlyafterthebankruptcy

ofhisleathershopthathe

decidedtoturn to photography

full time.

© ERWIN BLUMENFELD/CONDÉ NAST VIA GETT Y IMAGES

© TIME & LIFE PICTURES

Modelsitting,

wearingfivegloves,

one length or another

‘Itcouldeasily

havebeenshot

yesterday,suchisthe

timelessnatureof

Blumenfeld’s work’