拍品专文
Pierre Dubreuil was born in Lille, France in 1872. By the time he was in his early twenties he had exhibited in Paris and in 1903 was elected to the prestigious but insular photography club, The Linked Ring in London. The "Links", as they referred to themselves, were advocates of the Secessionist movement in Britain but were composed of an internationally renowned membership. As social an organization as an artistic one, The Linked Ring demanded of all "Links" a certain amount of secrecy and symbolism appropriate of the era. A flier sent to prospective petitioners for admission claimed "The Linked Ring has been constituted as a means of bringing together those who are interested in the development of the highest form of Art of which Photography is capable." Rules were non-existent but there were "some customs and observances, the knowledge of which is imparted to those who are admitted within its limits." Some members took on pseudonyms, the knowledge of which was used to communicate recognition of the inner sanctum of membership. (Harker, The Linked Ring, frontispiece and p. xi)
Dubreuil was admitted but not without some concerns over his maturity as an artist by some members.
In 1908, Dubreuil resigned from the club, "severing" his Link. The irony of the break is that it was most certainly due to his growth as an artist. In a 1934 article in Amateur Photographer, "Fifty Years of Pictorialist Photography," Dudley Johnston recounted the situation in 1908, "It was about this date that there began to appear some photographs that were regarded at the time as freaks, but in reality marked the embryonic germs of a new development. These were associated particularly with the names Arbuthnot, Muir, Dubreuil and Strand." (c.f. Harker, p. 134). Interestingly, the following year, Durbreuil's departure was followed by a major rebellion from the ranks. On May 10, 1909, a letter was read at the "Union of the Ring" announcing the resignations of Alfred Stieglitz, Heinrich Kuehn, Joseph Keiley, Frank Eugene and Clarence White, all prominent members of the Photo-Secession, for the reason that the Ring was jeopardizing a cause they had "dear at heart." (ibid, p. 188, n. 6)
Dubreuil's awareness of the ideas and work of the Modernists in Paris came in part from the painter, Edmund Jamois, the subject of the portrait offered here. Jamois (1876-1975), also from Lille, was Dubreuil's closest artistic friend at the time. The composition of the portrait relies upon the focus brought to the painter's hand through the repetition of form from the curve of the foreground shape to the rims of Jamois' glasses, a device he brought to perfection after World War I. The critic Anthony Guest wrote of the portrait in Amateur Photographer in 1912, "At first it looks rather curious, for the head, though it has character, scarcely takes a leading part in the composition in competition with the palette and brush-hand. But then it is recognised that the hand is the real subject of the picture - a nervous, refined hand, full of temperament, highly strung and sensitive, a very revelation of individuality."
The print offered here, a rare example of Dubreuil's use of platinum, is one of two known to exist. It is also likely that Dubreuil remounted the print for the 1935 Royal Photographic Society retrospective, indicating his high regard for the image. It had been, at one time, titled after the painter. Dubreuil later changed that also, as indicated by a fine erasure beneath the final title, Un Geste.
The other known print is in the collection of the Royal Photographic Society, London.
Dubreuil was admitted but not without some concerns over his maturity as an artist by some members.
In 1908, Dubreuil resigned from the club, "severing" his Link. The irony of the break is that it was most certainly due to his growth as an artist. In a 1934 article in Amateur Photographer, "Fifty Years of Pictorialist Photography," Dudley Johnston recounted the situation in 1908, "It was about this date that there began to appear some photographs that were regarded at the time as freaks, but in reality marked the embryonic germs of a new development. These were associated particularly with the names Arbuthnot, Muir, Dubreuil and Strand." (c.f. Harker, p. 134). Interestingly, the following year, Durbreuil's departure was followed by a major rebellion from the ranks. On May 10, 1909, a letter was read at the "Union of the Ring" announcing the resignations of Alfred Stieglitz, Heinrich Kuehn, Joseph Keiley, Frank Eugene and Clarence White, all prominent members of the Photo-Secession, for the reason that the Ring was jeopardizing a cause they had "dear at heart." (ibid, p. 188, n. 6)
Dubreuil's awareness of the ideas and work of the Modernists in Paris came in part from the painter, Edmund Jamois, the subject of the portrait offered here. Jamois (1876-1975), also from Lille, was Dubreuil's closest artistic friend at the time. The composition of the portrait relies upon the focus brought to the painter's hand through the repetition of form from the curve of the foreground shape to the rims of Jamois' glasses, a device he brought to perfection after World War I. The critic Anthony Guest wrote of the portrait in Amateur Photographer in 1912, "At first it looks rather curious, for the head, though it has character, scarcely takes a leading part in the composition in competition with the palette and brush-hand. But then it is recognised that the hand is the real subject of the picture - a nervous, refined hand, full of temperament, highly strung and sensitive, a very revelation of individuality."
The print offered here, a rare example of Dubreuil's use of platinum, is one of two known to exist. It is also likely that Dubreuil remounted the print for the 1935 Royal Photographic Society retrospective, indicating his high regard for the image. It had been, at one time, titled after the painter. Dubreuil later changed that also, as indicated by a fine erasure beneath the final title, Un Geste.
The other known print is in the collection of the Royal Photographic Society, London.