El eclipse (The eclipse)
1933, printed 1974
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 18.6 x 24.1 cm (7 5/16 x 9 1/2 in.) mount: 37.5 x 50.2 cm (14 3/4 x 19 3/4 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Lee and Maria Friedlander
Accession Number
2006.117.1.5
Art Historical Context
Manuel Álvarez Bravo, a pioneering Mexican photographer, created *El eclipse (The Eclipse)* in 1933, a gelatin silver print later editioned in 1974. Born in 1902, Bravo was a key figure in modern Latin American photography, blending Surrealist influences from Europe with Mexico's post-revolutionary cultural renaissance. His work often transformed ordinary moments into poetic mysteries, elevating photography as fine art during a time when it was emerging from documentary roots. This intimate image (18.6 x 24.1 cm) captures the awe of a natural phenomenon, likely a solar eclipse, through Bravo'...
About the Artist
Manuel Álvarez Bravo
Manuel Álvarez Bravo (1902–2002) was one of the greatest photographers of the twentieth century and the undisputed master of Mexican modernist photography. Born in Mexico City into a family with artistic connections, he was largely self-taught as a photographer, beginning to work seriously with the camera in the 1920s. His development was shaped by encounters with figures at the center of Mexico's...