Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitsky) (1890-1976) - Lot 113

Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitsky) (1890-1976) Rayography, 1927. Vintage silver print, signed, dated and annotated "2/2" in pencil lower right. Stamp "Man Ray - 31 bis, rue - Campagne - Première - Paris XIVe" [Manford M6], annotations "Le meilleur document de Man Ray : la lampe du photographe" and "page 294" in pencil on verso. Cracks, tears and two corners missing. 28.3 x 22.3 cm Bibliography: - Le Grand Jeu, Paris, summer 1928, no. 1, p. 53. - Vu, Paris, March 19, 1930, n°105, p. 259. - Emmanuelle de l'Écotais, Man Ray, Rayographies, Paris, Léo Scheer, 2002, no. 129 (not yet located). - Rosalind Krauss, Jane Livingston, L'Amour Fou. Photography & Surrealism, Washington-New York, The Corcoran Gallery of Art/Abbeville Press, 1985, p. 127. Provenance: François Lepage Collection, Paris. Man Ray scholar Steven Manford describes the process the photographer probably adopted to create this image: to obtain this unique print, Man Ray placed a light bulb behind the light source of his enlarger and projected the resulting image directly onto the paper. The bulb takes the place of the negative, and the image is focused on its filament. The pencil annotation 2/2 suggests the existence of a variant made using the same process. This technical innovation calls into question the very definition of rayogram, since it is not the method usually adopted by Man Ray. In the end, transgressing the techniques he himself developed is not a surprising step for the artist. In this case, it results in the production of a surprising and innovative object. And yet, when the print - or its variant - was reproduced in the pages of Vu magazine on March 19, 1930, it was indeed the words "Rayogram by Man Ray" that were associated with the image. The work presented here will be included in the catalog raisonné of Man Ray's rayograms, soon to be published under the direction of Steven Manford. This work will be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné of the Rayographs being prepared by Man Ray Research Scholar Steven Manford.