Dear Friends in Affection,
In anticipation of the next offering of classical photography, that by
the prolific photographers Lehnert and Landrock, I thought it best to
preface the presentation with a few relevant comments, the first being
of my own impressions.
Please be forewarned that the following presentations contains images
not only of boys, but those of women. For, although the pair were
known for a vast amount of scenic postal cards of Egypt and Tunisia at
the turn of the 19th Century, the next notable endeavor was those of
the "French Postcard" genre--in other words, quite naughty by the
standards of the day. The overwhelming number of subjects were women
and young girls, some of which images have been included here for
reference (or whatever).
But when it comes to photography of the boy and young man, one detects
a sensuality easily on par with the images of women, and very
reminicent of Von Gloeden and Pluschow (who also did a bit of shutter
snapping in North Africa).
Lastly, image 011 was attributed to Lehnert, but differs from the body
of his work so strikingly that I, for one, am in doubt.
For your further edification, I submit the following and, possibly,
more scholastic reference.
Thank you.
HMS Victor Victorian NP-g18
God Save the Queen
"The Work of Lehnert & Landrock 1905-1925.
Brief Description:
Lehnert & Landrock met in Switzerland in 1904. They were both 26 at
the time, the former Austrian, the latter German. Both had been
dreaming of visiting and working in the "Orient". German travel
writers, explorers, archaeologists and anthropologists had done major
studies of the Near East, especially in the 19th century, and this may
have influenced their decision to settle in Tunis the year of their
meeting. After World War I, upon their return to the Mahgreb, they
were again in Tunis, and later in Cairo. Indeed, the firm still exists
in Cairo today under the same name. A relative of Landrock donated all
There have been numerous articles and monographs about their
work (see Bibliography below) and increasingly L & L are becoming
recognized as one of the best studios working in this area during this
period. The photographs were, in fact, taken by Lehnert, while
Landrock supplied the business acumen. Lehnert also worked for a brief
period (1922-24) in Algiers for Jouvet, although Jouvet's studio mark
does not credit him. Lehnert made a body of independent work, mostly
of male and female nudes. They are quite rare, though some have
appeared at auctions, most recently in a lot of male erotica including
von Gloeden et al in a Christie's London sale.
There are several distinguishing features to a Lehnert
photograph. Desert scenes are simple, but formally composed (Desert
Lookouts, Desert Sentinels) reflecting his early training as a painter
and art student. Lone figures, or a group of lone figures are usually
dwarfed by sand dunes, forming one of his favorite motifs, the power
and influence of the desert and nature over man. There is a large body
of female nude work, and of eroticized male adolescent images. Nude
with Veil is especially representative of this genre. Such work was
exceptional for the other photographers working in North Africa, but
for L & L we might call it common. Several important female and male
images are posted in the Gallery section, including two rare silver
prints (Harem Nudes, Nude with Veil).
The output of the firm was enormous. It included vintage
photographs, heliogravures, original photographic postcards,
heliogravure postcards, and contributions to innumerable books."
http://www.xs4all.nl/~geraci/lehnland/ll_ref.html
|
|