Émile Savitry: Difference between revisions

Émile Savitry
Émile Savitry
Born	21 January 1903; Saigon, Vietnam
Died	30 October 1967 (aged 64); Paris
Nationality	French
Known for	Photography, Painting

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Émile Savitry (1903-1967) was a French photographer and painter.

Biography

Born in Saigon, in 1903, into the wealthy colonial industrialist Dupont family, Émile renamed himself Savitry to go at age 17 to study painting at École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs and at the private Grande Chaumiere Academy of Fine Arts (still located in Paris at 14, Rue de la Grande Chaumiere), until 1924. Associated with poet Robert Desnos and painter André Derain and the Surrealists, he exhibited in 1929 at dealer Zborowski’s gallery a sellout show, the catalogue essay of which was penned by celebrated Surrealist poet Louis Aragon (1897-1982).

"He had more than one string to his art,” wrote Claude Roy in 1972, “painting, photography, travel (and doing nothing). But what did not interest him was to be successful.”.^[1] On the threshold of artistic fame he decamped to Polynesia in the company of surrealist painter Georges Malkin and Yvette Ledoux, a young American woman whom he’d just met. On arrival she chose to go with Malkin. Savitry had taken a Gaumont Block-Notes 6x9 camera, so named for its shape and its ingenious sheet magazine (see: http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Gaumont_Block-Notes), and happened upon an beached ‘ghost ship’. Friedrich W. Murnau, in the middle of shooting his ill-fated movie Taboo, was impressed by Savitry’s boat picture and engaged him on his team to research Polynesian iconography and to make film stills.

Photojournalism

On return to Paris in 1930 he commenced a career as a photographer, cofounding with Charles Rado, with Brassaï and Ergy Landau in 1933 the Rapho agency. For Rapho, he covered the massive refugee influx into the South of France from the Spanish Civil War. His reportage for Match and other magazines also features his close friend Django Reinhardt, whose installation in Paris with his family and introduction into the jazz scene there, Savitry sponsored. After the war, he helped to revive the Raymond Grasset agency in Paris, joined there by Robert Doisneau and Willy Ronis. He was later a regular contributor to fashion magazines Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.

Portraits

He is best known for his portraits and film-stills of mid-century personalities: actors Anouk Aimee, Brigitte Bardot, Pierre Brasseur, Marcel Carné, Oscar Dominiguez, Marcel Jean, Jacques Prévert, Serge Reggiani, Django Reinhardt, Madeleine Renaud, Bertold Bartosch, Alberto Giacometti, Victor Brauner, Pierre Loeb, musician Claude Luter, Edith Piaf, Colette, Charlie Chaplin, transvestite sculptor Anton Prinner, and Surrealist painter Germain Vandersteen.

References

^ Savitry, Émile; Malexis, Sophie; Museu Valencia de Il·lustració i la Modernitat; Abbaye Sainte-Croix (Les Sables-d'Olonne, France) (2011), Émile Savitry : un photographe de Montparnasse = un fotógrafo de Montparnasse, 5 continents, ISBN 978-88-7439-593-4

[1] Savitry, Émile; Malexis, Sophie; Museu Valencia de Il·lustració i la Modernitat; Abbaye Sainte-Croix (Les Sables-d'Olonne, France) (2011), Émile Savitry : un photographe de Montparnasse = un fotógrafo de Montparnasse, 5 continents, ISBN 978-88-7439-593-4

[1]

@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 "He had more than one string to his art,” wrote [[Claude Roy]] in 1972, “painting, photography, travel (and doing nothing). But what did not interest him was to be successful.”.<ref>{{Citation | author1=Savitry, Émile | author2=Malexis, Sophie | author3=Museu Valencia de Il·lustració i la Modernitat | author4=Abbaye Sainte-Croix (Les Sables-d'Olonne, France) | title=Émile Savitry : un photographe de Montparnasse = un fotógrafo de Montparnasse | publication-date=2011 | publisher=5 continents | isbn=978-88-7439-593-4 }}</ref> On the threshold of artistic fame he decamped to Polynesia in the company of surrealist painter [[Georges Malkin]] and Yvette Ledoux, a young American woman whom he’d just met. On arrival she chose to go with Malkin. Savitry had taken a [[Gaumont]] Block-Notes 6x9 camera, so named for its shape and its ingenious [[sheet film|sheet magazine]] (see: http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Gaumont_Block-Notes), and happened upon an beached ‘ghost ship’. [[Friedrich W. Murnau]], in the middle of shooting his ill-fated movie Taboo, was impressed by Savitry’s boat picture and engaged him on his team to research [[Polynesia|Polynesian]] [[iconography]] and to make [[film stills]].
+==Photojournalism==
-On return to Paris in 1930 he commenced a career as a photographer, joining in 1933 the [[Rapho (agency)|Rapho]] agency created by [[Charles Rado]], with [[Brassaï]] and [[Ergy Landau]], undertaking reportage for [[Paris Match|Match]] and other magazines which features his close friend [[Django Reinhardt]], whose installation in Paris with his family and introduction into the jazz scene there, Savitry sponsored. After the war, he helped to revive the Raymond Grasset agency in Paris, joined there by [[Robert Doisneau]] and [[Willy Ronis]].
+On return to Paris in 1930 he commenced a career as a photographer, cofounding with [[Charles Rado]], with [[Brassaï]] and [[Ergy Landau]] in 1933 the [[Rapho (agency)|Rapho]] agency. For Rapho, he covered the massive refugee influx into the South of France from the [[Spanish Civil War]]. His reportage for [[Paris Match|Match]] and other magazines also features his close friend [[Django Reinhardt]], whose installation in Paris with his family and introduction into the jazz scene there, Savitry sponsored. After the war, he helped to revive the Raymond Grasset agency in Paris, joined there by [[Robert Doisneau]] and [[Willy Ronis]]. He was later a regular contributor to fashion magazines [[Vogue]] and [[Harper’s Bazaar]].
 ==Portraits==