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Lot Essay
The dreamlike ambiguity of Manuel Alvarez Bravo's Retrato de lo Eterno is a reoccuring theme throughout much of his work. The figure's spiritual presence is suggestive of a madonna-like apparition, while at the same time based on a scene of everyday life. Retrato de lo Eterno, recognized as one of Alvarez Bravo's most important works, presents a striking young woman painted with celestial light gazing into a mirror hidden within her hand. While it is the viewer who brings their own interpretation to the work as they explore what is suggested, it is Alvarez Bravo's ability to find magic in the ordinary that is exemplified. It is observed in The Museum of Modern Art's bulletin for their 1997 Manuel Alvarez Bravo retrospective, "The mirror, frequently a symbol for vanity, highlights age and the passage of time. Beauty and light are dramatically revealed as transitory elements that are also paradoxically eternal in their recurrence. Thus the photograph, explicitly about one thing, is implicitly about its opposite - a common reversal also present in Alvarez Bravo's works about life and death."
Just as he prompts his audience to revisit his work, so too does Alvarez Bravo, returning to his works to reconsider their meaning. This practice is displayed in a letter in the files of The Museum of Modern Art from the artist to Grace Mayer dated May 18, 1964 which states: The photograph, "El Peinado" has been published here with another title, "Retrato de lo Eterno." This is however pretentious so I think the best title would be "Mujer Penendose." I don't remember the exact date, but it was done between 1937 and 1939." The original catalogue card lists the title variously as "Coiffure," El Peinado," "Mujer Penandose," and "The Coiffure."
The print in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art was a gift of Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. in 1942. This print is on a semi-gloss paper, unlike the print offered here which is on a matte surface paper. Other works by Alvarez Bravo in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, were given by Alfred Barr, Jr. who along with Kaufmann visited the artist in 1942 and acquired them directly from him.
Just as he prompts his audience to revisit his work, so too does Alvarez Bravo, returning to his works to reconsider their meaning. This practice is displayed in a letter in the files of The Museum of Modern Art from the artist to Grace Mayer dated May 18, 1964 which states: The photograph, "El Peinado" has been published here with another title, "Retrato de lo Eterno." This is however pretentious so I think the best title would be "Mujer Penendose." I don't remember the exact date, but it was done between 1937 and 1939." The original catalogue card lists the title variously as "Coiffure," El Peinado," "Mujer Penandose," and "The Coiffure."
The print in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art was a gift of Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. in 1942. This print is on a semi-gloss paper, unlike the print offered here which is on a matte surface paper. Other works by Alvarez Bravo in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, were given by Alfred Barr, Jr. who along with Kaufmann visited the artist in 1942 and acquired them directly from him.