{"product_id":"26214-roth-quartet-kertesz-andre-quatuor-quartet-1926","title":"[Roth Quartet. (1922–1969)] Kertész, André. (1894–1985) Quatuor (Quatuor à Corde Dirigé Par Feri Roth) [\"Quartet\"], 1926","description":"\u003cp\u003eBromoil silver gelatin print. Photographer's purple Credit (name, address) \u0026amp; Copyright stamps to verso. Tiny mounting remnant on verso upper right corner, otherwise very fine. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e4.75 x 5 inches; 12.1 x 12.7 cm. A rare and highly important photograph of the great Hungarian quartet, this example from the personal collection of the subject Quartet's second violinist, Jeno Antal, by descent through his family, and not previously offered on the market. This beautiful vintage print is one of only a small number made by the photographer from the negative in 1926 while living in Paris on 5 rue de Vanves. Another example was sold at Christie's in 1997 (Hammer price of $85k, inflation adjusted equivalent $177k) and the associated \"Cello Study\" cropped from this series, was sold in 2022 at Christie's for $226,800. We are aware of only one other example of this original format and printing to have appeared at auction in over 30 years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eThe Roth Quartet, founded in Budapest in 1922, made its debut in Paris in 1924 and toured the US in the late 1920s before permanently settling there, due to the rise of fascism in Europe. They premiered many important modern works, including quartets by Prokofiev and Korngold.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAndré Kertész was one of the 20th century’s leading photographers, known for his innovative compositions, pioneering contributions to the photo essay and keen eye for capturing the poetry of modern urban life. Through his lens, Kertész wanted ‘to give meaning to everything, to make photographs as by reflection in a mirror, unmanipulated and direct as in life.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBorn Kertész Andor in Budapest, in 1894, Kertész became enamoured with photography through the captivating images he saw in illustrated magazines. In 1912 he got his first camera and began taking pictures of local peasants and surroundings in the Hungarian Plains. His early interest in chronicling everyday life and the people within it would persist throughout his career.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKertész moved to Paris in 1925, where he became a prominent photojournalist as an early proponent of the compact 35 mm format camera. Kertész was an active member of the vibrant Parisian artistic community of the time, landing in the neighborhood of Montparnasse, the hothouse of artists and creativity, and befriending artists such as Piet Mondrian, Marc Chagall, Alexander Calder and Constantin Brâncuşi, who had also become his photographic subjects. During this period, he produced some of his most iconic images, including Satiric Dancer (1926) which sold at Christie’s New York in 2024 for US$567,000, establishing a world auction record for the artist.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout the mid-1920s, Kertész focused on geometry, abstraction and the beauty found in vernacular objects. The print offered here \u003cem\u003eQuartet, 1926\u003c\/em\u003e, is from a series of publicity photographs he took for the Roth Quartet, depicting the four musicians gathered to play. Kertész stood on a chair or stool to get an elevated position (a favorite technique) and made a wide picture that showed the complete scene. With four sets of hands holding their bows at different angles and its single centered music stand with a single white sheet facing outwards, the work stands out as emblematic of the play with abstraction and fascination with geometry that characterized the work of the artists within Kertész’s circle of friends.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe later went so far as to print the photograph with an even more closely cropped image of only the arms and hands and instruments visible, representing a key moment in the photographer’s career as he carved out a new, modern photographic practice blurring the lines between abstraction and representation. With other well-known photographic works such as \u003cem\u003eTelephone Wires\u003c\/em\u003e, 1927 and \u003cem\u003eFork\u003c\/em\u003e, 1928, he focused his lens on common everyday objects taken from new perspectives, either from above or at skewed diagonal angles along a fragmented axis of representation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKertész’s fascination with visual distortion led him to create his famous ‘Distortions’ series of nudes in 1933. He used warped, funhouse mirrors to create surreal, elongated human forms. This experimentation was groundbreaking and set him apart as an innovator in photography.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1936, Kertész moved to the United States, eventually settling in New York. Drawing inspiration from his new surroundings and reflecting on his personal history, having lived through two wars, his work during this period the fleeting moments of life in the city, while subtly feeding his enduring curiosity about the human condition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAndré Kertész received the title of Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour in 1983, just a year before his death at the age of 91. Today Kertész is regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century photography, his work influencing generations of photographers that follow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Schubertiade Music and Arts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":62866461556895,"sku":"26214","price":65000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0512\/4826\/7423\/files\/Kertesz_AndreROTHQuartet26214a1.jpg?v=1789679118","url":"https:\/\/www.schubertiademusic.com\/products\/26214-roth-quartet-kertesz-andre-quatuor-quartet-1926","provider":"Schubertiade Music and Arts","version":"1.0","type":"link"}