Le Souffle (Breeze)

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Le Souffle (Breeze)

1931

Man Ray (American, 1890–1976)

In 1931 a French electric company, the Compagnie parisienne de distribution d’electricité (CPDE), commissioned Man Ray to produce a portfolio of photogravures celebrating electricity’s contributions to the modern home. The artist deployed his characteristic abstract methods to produce exciting images of fans, toasters, light cords, and other twentieth-century conveniences. Although we do not know who printed the photogravures, Man Ray clearly worked with an artisan who was very skilled at the hand-pulled gravure process.

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Object Details

Title:

Le Souffle (Breeze)
The Fan, From the portfolio Electricité

Date:

1931

Artist:

Man Ray (American, 1890–1976)

Medium:

Photogravure

Dimensions:

Image and sheet: 10 1/4 × 7 15/16 inches (26 × 20.2 cm) Mount: 14 13/16 x 10 7/8 inches (37.6 x 27.6 cm)

Classification:

Photographs

Credit Line:

Purchased with the Alice Newton Osborn Fund, 1987

Accession Number:

1987-86-4

Geography:

Made in Paris, France, Europe

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