Lot Essay
In photography, a much greater importance should be given to the intellectual aspect of the work. Indeed, it should become the main artistic factor. Isn't it the intellectual work that is responsible for creating the feelings we experience in the presence of a masterpiece? Isn't it thanks to this that an intense communion between author and viewer can be achieved?
- Pierre Dubreuil, "Intellection", 9th International Kerstsalon, Salon de Nel, 1935-36 (exhibition catalogue), n.p.
Pierre Dubreuil was nothing, if not obsessive about his picture making. Le Premier Round is one of the finest examples of his intense dedication to detailed composition where the repetition of form and severe cropping serve his vision succinctly. The image, built on circular motifs, leads to an incongruous conclusion. The subject, by definition masculine, is softened and made essentially androgenous by the curving arcs of the boxer's glove, the oval of his face and the globes of his eyes. This theme permeates Dubreuil's later, Belgian period. Androgeny and sexual tension seem to color images such as The Woman Driver, 1928 (Jacobson, fig. 19), The Aviator, ca. 1932 (collection of the Museum of Science and Technology, Chicago), Ardent Dsir, 1925 (Jacobson, pl. 14) and Les Quilles (The Skittles), 1928 (Jacobson, pl. 23). Le Premier Round is successfully seductive, drawing the viewer into a powerful staring bout that ultimately leads inevitably to forfeiture.
Dubreuil, the internationally exhibited Salon master was multilingual and cunning when titling his photographs. Tom Jacobson notes, for example, "Many pictures can be understood only by referring to their titles. Instruments de Parques ("Tools of the Parcae") ca. 1932 (the same era as Le Premier Round - ed.) alludes to the three Fates of Roman mythology, the daughters of the Night who spun and then cut the thread of life. The objects shown relate in obvious ways to the title, but it is the three unseen sources of light from above that make the image so extraordinary." (c.f., Jacobson, p. 30, fig. 20). The print offered here of "Le Premier Round" is titled in both French and English. The English title on the verso, First Round, more strongly suggests Dubreuil's wordplay, referring of course to the design of the image. With the obvious downplay of the gender identity of the sitter, one must wonder what personal meaning Dubreuil was attempting, attaching such a title to the work.
This is the only known print of this image in private hands. The only other extant print is in the collection of the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, titled The First Round, only.
- Pierre Dubreuil, "Intellection", 9th International Kerstsalon, Salon de Nel, 1935-36 (exhibition catalogue), n.p.
Pierre Dubreuil was nothing, if not obsessive about his picture making. Le Premier Round is one of the finest examples of his intense dedication to detailed composition where the repetition of form and severe cropping serve his vision succinctly. The image, built on circular motifs, leads to an incongruous conclusion. The subject, by definition masculine, is softened and made essentially androgenous by the curving arcs of the boxer's glove, the oval of his face and the globes of his eyes. This theme permeates Dubreuil's later, Belgian period. Androgeny and sexual tension seem to color images such as The Woman Driver, 1928 (Jacobson, fig. 19), The Aviator, ca. 1932 (collection of the Museum of Science and Technology, Chicago), Ardent Dsir, 1925 (Jacobson, pl. 14) and Les Quilles (The Skittles), 1928 (Jacobson, pl. 23). Le Premier Round is successfully seductive, drawing the viewer into a powerful staring bout that ultimately leads inevitably to forfeiture.
Dubreuil, the internationally exhibited Salon master was multilingual and cunning when titling his photographs. Tom Jacobson notes, for example, "Many pictures can be understood only by referring to their titles. Instruments de Parques ("Tools of the Parcae") ca. 1932 (the same era as Le Premier Round - ed.) alludes to the three Fates of Roman mythology, the daughters of the Night who spun and then cut the thread of life. The objects shown relate in obvious ways to the title, but it is the three unseen sources of light from above that make the image so extraordinary." (c.f., Jacobson, p. 30, fig. 20). The print offered here of "Le Premier Round" is titled in both French and English. The English title on the verso, First Round, more strongly suggests Dubreuil's wordplay, referring of course to the design of the image. With the obvious downplay of the gender identity of the sitter, one must wonder what personal meaning Dubreuil was attempting, attaching such a title to the work.
This is the only known print of this image in private hands. The only other extant print is in the collection of the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, titled The First Round, only.