| Man Ray Marcel Proust on his Deathbed 1922, 20 November Gelatin silver print 15.1 x 19.8 cm (5 15/16 x 7 13/16 in) J. Paul Getty Museum Object number: 84.XM.1000.144, © Man Ray Trust ARS-ADAGP LL/50597 Curatorial desciption (Accessed: 1 July 2021)
Ravaged by bronchitis and pneumonia, Marcel Proust spent the last night of his life dictating manuscript changes for a section of his famous novel Remembrance of Things Past.
Man Ray did not know Proust, but he had become such an important photographer that mutual friends dispatched him to the celebrated French author's bedside to make a final portrait two days after his death. The side view associates Man Ray's photograph with a tradition of postmortem photography dating back to the inception of the medium.
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