About This Artwork

André Kertész
American, born Hungary, 1894–1985

Chez Mondrian, Paris, 1926

Gelatin silver print
10.8 x 7.9 cm
Signed lower left on mount.
Julien Levy Collection, Gift of Jean and Julien Levy, 1975.1136

In 1925, André Kertész moved from his native Hungary to Paris, where he found a community of like-minded artists and writers. Among them was Piet Mondrian, the De Stijl painter who was becoming known for his geometric abstractions. Mondrian invited the young photographer to his studio in early 1926. As Kertész recalled years later:

"I went to his studio and instinctively tried to capture in my photographs the spirit of his paintings. He simplified, simplified, simplified. The studio with its symmetry dictated the composition. He had a vase with a flower, but the flower was artificial. It was colored by him with the right color to match the studio."

Although Mondrian imposed rigid geometric order on everything in the apartment, Kertész found deviations in the curves of the staircase, vase, and the round boater hat hanging on the rack. (The hat belonged to the photographer's friend Michel Seuphor, a painter and writer who authored a book on Mondrian, who had accompanied Kertész to the studio.) This photograph has become one of Kertész's most famous, although it was not published until 1943. It was known previously only through exhibitions, including Kertész's first exhibition in 1927 at the Parisian gallery Au Sacre du Printemps.

Exhibition, Publication and Ownership Histories

Exhibition History

New York, NY, The Equitable Gallery, "Julien Levy: Portrait of a Gallery," August 13–October 31, 1998.

AIC, "Paris: Photographs from a Time that Was," August 13–November 6, 2005. (David Travis)

Paris, France, Maison Européene de la Photographie, "The Odyssey of an Icon: The Photographs by André Kertész," October 31, 2006–January 7, 2007.

AIC, "Photography on Display: Modern Treasures," May 9–September 13, 2009.

Publication History

1999. “André Kertész and Avant Garde Photography of the Twenties and Thirties." Annely Juda Fine Art Gallery/BAS Printers. p. 44. (other print of this image)

Greenough, Sarah, Robert Gurbo, and Sarah Kennel. 2005. “André Kertész.” Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art/Princeton University Press. p. 50. (other print of this image)

Kertész, André. 1966. “André Kertész.” ed. Anna Fárová. New York: Paragraphic Books. p. 43. (other print of this image)

Kertész, André. 1972. “André Kertész: Sixty Years of Photography, 1912-1972.” ed. Nicolas Ducrot. Grossman Publishers. p. 119. (other print of this image)

Kertész, André. 1982. “André Kertész: A Lifetime of Perception." ed. Jane Corkin. Harry N. Abrams. p. 206. (other print of this image)

Morgan, Willard D., ed. 1942-1943. “The Complete Photographer: A Complete Guide to Amateur and Professional Photography.” Vol. 5. New York: National Educational Alliance. p. 1584.

Phillips, Sandra, Jean-Claude Lemagny, Michel Frizot, Isabelle Jammes, and Pierre Bonhomme. 1992. “André Kertész in Paris: Photographien 1925–1936.” Schirmer/Mosel. pl. 47. (other print of this image)

Phillips, Sandra S., David Travis, and Weston J. Naef. 1985. “André Kertész: Of Paris and New York.” Exh. cat. Art Institute of Chicago/Metropolitan Museum of Art/Thames and Hudson. p. 136. cat. 22.

Travis, David. 2005. "Paris: Photographs from a Time that Was." Exh. cat. Art Institute of Chicago/Yale University Press. p. 46.

Travis, David. 1976. "Photographs from the Julien Levy Collection, Starting with Atget." Exh. cat. Art Institute of Chicago. p. 6. pl. 58.