When you do not like human beings you cannot make good portraits.
August 5, 2012 5:24 AM   Subscribe

Giselle Freund, was born in Germany in 1908 .
In the 1930' she photographed ( 9 pages ) the Who's Who of Paris intelligensia, esp. James Joyce.
A charming Video of some of her stills.
In January, 1933, Hitler became chancellor of the Reich and established his dictatorship in Germany. Many of those I photographed on that May Day in 1932 became members of the Nazi party; others ended up in concentration camps.
In exile in Argentina (invited by Victoria Ocampo) she explored Patagonia; and her pictures of Evita Peron together with her political stance later caused her problems with the Americans.
L’Oeil Frontière Paris 1933-1940 and some later photos.
posted by adamvasco (4 comments total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
Wow, this is a fantastic post.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:02 AM on August 5, 2012


I recognize her Virginia Wolfe portrait. And while she may have never posed her subjects, it looks as though many posed themselves. This is an interesting post; thank you for it.
posted by santaslittlehelper at 8:02 AM on August 5, 2012


I was surprised when I couldn't find more of her stuff in one place. I mean I know many of these photos but din't really realize who had taken them.
Her best friend and introduction to the Paris intellecual scene was Adrienne Monnier who she met shortly after fleeing Germany and enrolling in the Sorbonne. She sometimes helped in her bookshop Le maison de amis des livres, opposite Shekespeare and Company and asked her friends Bunuel, Dali and Cocteau to give her the otherwise unusable "short ends' of film. The results were shown as a backdrop on the bookshop wall.
Simone de Beauvoir recalled: ...All the consecrated authors as well as the new talents with a still-uncertain future drifted across the screen before our eyes" via
posted by adamvasco at 9:14 AM on August 5, 2012


What amazing photos, and what a fascinating person.

(And while her sexual orientation is and should be a footnote to her achievements as an artist, I have to admit I'm always glad to to discover another artist who proves that not all history is straight.)
posted by kyrademon at 5:23 AM on August 7, 2012


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