74 21 September 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
A
tschoolI wastold
toproducea project
thatcomparedthe
workofa famous
Europeanwiththatofa British
personinthesamefield.I can’t
recallhowI’dcomeacross
GermanphotographerWalter
Nurnberg,butI decidedtohold
hisportraitsnexttothoseof
LordSnowdon’stodetermine
whosewere‘better’.Atthe
timeI assumedNurnberg
musthavehadtoworkmuch
hardertomakesomething
ofhimself,andI foundhis
carefullyconstructedlighting
andcompositionfarmore
skilfullyaccomplishedthan
Snowdon’s‘snaps’ofhisfamous
chums.GoodGod,Snowdon
didn’tevenuseflashmost
ofthetime,whileNurnberg
usedinit spades.(Ihave
since,I’mgladtosay,cometo
appreciateSnowdon’sability
tocrafta naturalatmosphere
a littlemore.)
I bringupthischildhood
memoryonlybecausewhenI
firstsawthisstrikingportrait
byGertySimon’sI wasstruck
byhowcloseitsstyleis tothat
ofHerrNurnberg’s.Nurnberg
madea nameforhimselfasan
industrialphotographer,and
importedmuchofthehard,
graphicandthree-dimensional
lightingtechniquesfromthat
genreintohisportraitwork.
Thisportraitoftheartistand
sculptorRenéeSintenis
demonstratesa remarkable
similarity,andonethatleads
metoreallylikethispicture.
LookingintoSimon’s
backgroundit makessense
thatshefledfromBerlinto
Londonatthesametimeas
Nurnberg– in1933,asthe
Nazipartycametopowerin
Germanyandmadelife
difficultforallsortsofartists.
Althoughtheywerequite
differentinagetheywere
obviouslyinfluencedtoan
extentbysimilarideas,and
there’sa strongstrokeof
hard-shadowBauhaus in
bothofthem.Valuingthesitter
IhavereadthatGertySimon
useda Hollywoodstyleinher
portraits,butI don’tthink
that’saccurate.Sheoftenused
hard,directionallightingbut
that’saboutascloseasit gets.
Hersis a morefactualstyle–
lessglamorising– butstillwith
a senseofelevatingthesubject
toa higherstatussoweknow
weshouldworshipandadulate.
I thinkshevalueddifferent
characteristicsina sittertoo
thantheconventionalideas
ofphysicalbeautythattend
todominateHollywood’s
fictionalportraiture.
Wegetverycaughtupin
theideathatportraitsare
supposedtoflatter,butthat
almostalwaysleadstoa
dishonestdepiction.This
portrait,however,appears
tobetheresultofcareful
observationofthesubject’s
physicalcharacteristicsand
concentratesonshowingusthe
photographer’sexperienceof
theperson.Thelookis quite
industrial,andseemsdesigned
toemphasisethestructural
featuresofSintenis’sface,the
lengthofherlimbsandfingers,
andhersharpangularhaircut.OtherportraitsI’veseenof
Sintenisglamouriseherinthe
Hollywoodfashion,withsoft
focusandglowinghighlights,
butinconcentratingon
makingherattractivethey
neglecttopayattentionto
herintellect.Inthisportrait
wecanseeSintenisis’s
creativity,thecomplexskills
ofherhandsinmouldingthe
figuresshesculpted– andshe
looksfarmoreinteresting.The
slightly low camera angleforcesustolookupather,and
thedramaticlightingcouldbe
borrowedfroma statuelitup
atnightinsomecitysquare–
it lendsheraniconicsense
ofpower.Itreallyis very
effective,andoffersusall
lotstolearn.
YoucanseemoreofGerty
Simon’sphotographson
displayattheWienerLibrary
inLondonuntil 15 October.
Checkoutourreviewon
page 9 for more details.© THE BERNARD SIMON ESTATE, WIENER LIBRARY COLLECTIONS‘InthisportraitwecanseeSintenis’s
creativity,thecomplexskillsofherhands
in moulding the fi gures she sculpted’
PhotographerandjournalistDamienDemolderhasworkedin thephotographicpublishingindustrysince 1997 andis theformereditorofAmateurPhotographer. Hewritesregularly about photography for a
number of leading publications and has also been a judge on a number of prestigious international photo competitions. See his websiteatwww.damiendemolder.com.
Final AnalysisDamienDemolderconsiders...‘Renée Sintenis’, c. 1929-32, by Gerty SimonPhoto Critique