About this artwork
After moving to New York City from his native San Francisco in 1918, Francis Bruguiére became the set photographer for the Theatre Guild. His job was to photograph scenes from plays, lit for performances and with the actors in place, which proved difficult given the low light of the theater sets. Bruguiére went beyond re-creating a play on stage and instead photographed the actors from dramatic angles, often using double exposures. He applied the knowledge he had gained from theater design to photograph abstract compositions made out of cut paper, with light from the lamps that he arranged around each object shining through its perforations. With the innovative spirit of a set designer, Bruguiére created the illusion of form and dimension from simple materials. Author and playwright Lance Sieveking used this abstraction as an illustration for his book Beyond This Point (1929).
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Photography and Media
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Artist
- Francis Joseph Bruguière
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Title
- Untitled
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Place
- San Francisco (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- Made 1929
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Medium
- Gelatin silver print, from the book Beyond this Point, published 1929
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Dimensions
- Image/paper: 23.9 × 18.9 cm (9 7/16 × 7 1/2 in.); Mount: 46 × 31.7 cm (18 1/8 × 12 1/2 in.)
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Credit Line
- Julien Levy Collection, Gift of Jean Levy and the Estate of Julien Levy
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Reference Number
- 1988.157.15
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
