Tribute to Salvador Toscano, Mexico
(Hommage à Salvador Toscano, Mexico)
(1949); printed (1960s)
Medium
gelatin silver photograph
Measurements
18.2 × 22.8 cm (image and sheet)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Bowness Family Fund for Photography, 2023
© Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona Foundation
Gallery location
Special Exhibitions Gallery
Ground Level, NGV International
About this work
Initially photographing alongside her husband, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Lola Álvarez Bravo was one of Mexico’s most prominent photographers. Before separating in 1934, both artists were vital members of the artistic scene that included Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Following her separation, Álvarez Bravo photographed independently as a means of supporting herself and her son. Working across photojournalism, commercial, portrait and artistic photography, she captured life in Mexico. Álvarez Bravo created this image after the death of her friend, filmmaker Salvador Toscano. Lifting a dead crane from a body of water, Álvarez Bravo arranged its lifeless, decaying body on a pile of sand, alluding to the fragility of life and the brutal reality of death.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Mexico
Inscription
inscribed in pencil on support c.r.: Lola Alvarez Bravo
inscribed in pencil on support reverse u.c.: Hommage a S.T.
Accession Number
2023.590
Department
International Photography