Abstract
Discover Irving Penn's iconic series Small Trades, a collection of photographs showcasing workers and artisans in Paris, London, and New York. Explore the value Penn gave to his portraits and how he chose to represent this subject, highlighting dignity and prestige in the workers he photographed.
Extract
[...] In addition to this activity, he also realized many portraits and still lifes. This photograph is from the series Small Trades [Les Petits métiers] (1950-1951), which consisted of a series of full-length portraits of workers and artisans in the cities of Paris, London and New York. To choose the subjects, Irving Penn was assisted by the writer Robert Giraud as well as Edmonde Charles-Roux, editor of the French edition of the magazine Vogue. The photographer was also inspired by old photographs of street vendors photographs were made in total, acquired by the J. [...]
[...] We can then question the value given by Irving Penn to his portraits of workers, as well as the way he chose to represent this subject. The photograph we are studying more particularly in this analysis represents two young Parisian pastry chefs. As with all the other photographs in the series, they are shown in their work uniforms, including an apron, a scarf and a hat. Each of the two pastry chefs holds a rolling pin, with which they pose in front of the lens. [...]
[...] By choosing to photograph them against such a neutral background, Irving Penn thus highlights the two pastry chefs and also seems to abstract them from their environment; they are shown for themselves, certainly in work uniform, but cut off from all context. Irving Penn thus confers dignity and prestige on the workers he photographs, and highlights their activity and know-how. This impression is accentuated by the proud pose taken by the two men in this photograph, looking down and with insistence at the viewer. One could go so far as to say that Irving Penn photographs these men as if they were movie stars. He thus gives great nobility to individuals from a working-class background and usually little considered. [...]
[...] The way the subjects are represented, in a great economy of means and a purified composition, is also emblematic of the style that the photographer developed throughout his career, and of his interest in the subject. Finally, by its scope, because it includes, as we have said, more than 200 photographs, this series Small Trades This has become significant in the work of Irving Penn and represents his most important corpus. It has also allowed him to perfect his art of portraiture and his interest in the model. Bibliography HECKERT Virginia Irving Penn - Small Trades, Getty Publications, 2009 MAURICE HAMBOURG Maria and ROSENHEIM Jeff L. [...]
[...] Finally, we can observe that this portrait is emblematic of the style of this photographer. The background used by Irving Penn in this photograph has become characteristic of his style, particularly for his portraits and fashion photographs. Indeed, 'Trained in the arts, Irving Penn has a keen sense of drawing, which is revealed in the art of staging and the elegant simplicity of his snapshots. Throughout his career, from the late 1940s to the 2000s, he worked exclusively in the studio, where he used a painted backdrop found in Paris and kept his entire life.1 » According to John Szarkowski, former director of the photography department of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the portraits made by Irving Penn aim to show that the subjects are interesting enough on their own, without needing to be highlighted by a background. [...]
