Lot 4300: Moral, Jean: Face

Face (entitled "Gesicht" in Kirchbach collection). 1929. Vintage gelatin silver print. 25 x 17 cm. Photographer's stamp and annotated in pencil on the verso.
One of the most notable French photographers of the late 1920s and 30s, Morals' style was influenced by Modernism that was evolving in Paris during this period and he continually experimented with abstraction and the use of multiple exposures. He exhibited widely in the 1930s together with Laure Albin-Guillot, Brassaï, Man Ray, André Kértész. Moral also completed magazine and fashion assignments for Harper's Bazaar, Match, Paris soir, VU, Post, Le Figaro Illustré (Paris), Diversion and Die Dame (Berlin). His career flourished at Harper's Bazaar from 1933 to 1952 with other talented photographers of the period such as Louise Dahl-Wolfe and Martin Munkacsi. A print of the image offered here was in the famous Kirchbach Collection, auctioned as "The Helene Anderson Collection" in May 1997 at Sotheby's London, which was then revealed to be an incorrect provenance. - Some small retouched spots, a few light surface smudges and scratches more visible at an angle, otherwise a rich dark print in near excellent condition.