Tina Modotti
1925
Maria Marin de Orozco

Platinum print
8 3/4 x 6 3/4 in (22.2 x 17.1 cm)
 
Swann Galleries - New York
Courtesy of Swann Galleries (Auction Oct 21, 2008, Lot 60)
 
With Modotti's name and the title, in pencil, in an unknown hand, on mount verso; with the original overmat.
 
From the collection of Sir Elton John, 2004; by agent to A Private West Coast Collection.
 
Tina Modotti: A Fragile Life, 107.
 
The subject of this photograph is the sister of Lupe Marin who, after the death of Frida Kahlo, became Diego Rivera''s second wife.
 
Modotti utilized portrait photography to develop a continuous stream of income, which allowed her to experiment with a variety of personal and political subjects. The portraits Modotti produced in the mid-1920s are non-traditional in that she uses a low angle viewpoint, looking up at the subject. Posed close to their background, seemingly leaning against a wall, the soft lighting appears to come from the side, casting a warm glow across the face of the sitter, who rarely looks directly at the camera.
 
LL/31225