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Lot Essay
‘I use mirrors to introduce the same subject seen from different angles in a single photograph so as to give the same theme a variety of views that complete each other and are able to expound it better by interacting with each other. All this is much harder to explain than to do.’ -- FLORENCE HENRI
During her years living in Paris in the mid-1920s, Henri developed a sophisticated understanding of image-making. While her paintings of architectural subjects remain largely flat and graphic, revealing the structural rigor and bold stylization characteristic of her teacher, Fernand Léger, her photographs employing mirror reflections engage more directly with Cubism. Dynamic and inventive, these images challenge the conventions of single-point perspective, much as the pioneering Cubists had done before her. By incorporating multiple viewpoints within the picture plane, Henri explored the possibilities of photographic representation.
The present lot was purchased at auction in 2008 as part of a group of avant-garde photographic works coming from the collection of the German graphic-designer, Fritz Springefeld.
During her years living in Paris in the mid-1920s, Henri developed a sophisticated understanding of image-making. While her paintings of architectural subjects remain largely flat and graphic, revealing the structural rigor and bold stylization characteristic of her teacher, Fernand Léger, her photographs employing mirror reflections engage more directly with Cubism. Dynamic and inventive, these images challenge the conventions of single-point perspective, much as the pioneering Cubists had done before her. By incorporating multiple viewpoints within the picture plane, Henri explored the possibilities of photographic representation.
The present lot was purchased at auction in 2008 as part of a group of avant-garde photographic works coming from the collection of the German graphic-designer, Fritz Springefeld.