Seydou Keïta (Malian, 1921-2001) Bamako (two females holding hands), 1954
Provenienza : Provenance Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco;Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1997. Exhibited New York, Guggenheim Museum, In Sight: African Photographers from 1940 to the Present, May 1996 (illustrated on the front cover of the exhibition catalogue; another example exhibited)Paris, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Seydou Keïta March 31-July 11, 2016, p. 191 (illustrated; another example exhibited). Literature André Magnin, ed., Seydou Keïta (Göttingen, Steidl, 1997), p. 273 (illustrated, p. 20)Okwui Enwezor, ed., Contemporary African Photography from The Walther Collection. Events of the Self: Portraiture and Social Identity (Göttingen, Steidl, 2010), p. 37 (illustrated)Kathy Ryan and André Magnin, Seydou Keïta: Photographs, Bamako, Mali 1948-1963 (Göttingen, Steidl, 2010), negative number 01096, plate 51 (illustrated; further illustrated on front cover). Seydou Keïta's prolific body of black-and-white photographs epitomizes the creativity that flourished in the studio portraiture of a select group of West African photographers in the second half of the twentieth century. He creates powerful portraits of individuals, families, and friends at a monumental moment of Malian history in which the country was transitioning from a French colony to an independent entity. Predominantly created between 1949 and 1964, Keïta's charismatic portraits assert his reputation as a central figure at the forefront of postcolonial West African art. Born around 1921, Keïta initially trained as a carpenter under his father's supervision. His passion for photography was sparked by his uncle who gifted him his first camera, a Kodak Brownie Flash. By 1935, Keïta had begun to experiment with portraiture. He took photographs of family members, friends, and clients when they came to visit his father's carpentry workshop. In 1948, Keïta opened his own photography studio in Bamako and quickly cultivated a reputation as one of the capital's preeminent photographers. His studio was hugely popular and, positioned near the railway station, it attracted both local customers and business from individuals traveling through Mali to Senegal. Remarkably, Keïta was largely self-taught. He worked instinctively with the photographic medium to create technically skilful and aesthetically dynamic images. He preferred to work with natural daylight and operated an outdoor studio in the courtyard of a family compound in which he rented a room. He used a large-format camera which allowed him to make high-quality contact prints directly from the negatives. Famously, Keïta would take a single shot of each client, demonstrating his mastery of the form and aptitude for directing the poses of his subjects. Reflecting on his practice, Keïta observed, '[i]t's easy to take a photo, but what really made a difference was that I always knew how to find the right position, and I was never wrong. Their head slightly turned, a serious face, the position of the hands... I was capable of making someone look really good. The photos were always very good. That's why I always say that it's a real art'. The present image depicts two women dressed in matching m'boubous patterned with ostriches. The women are co-wives, and Keïta has consequently arranged their arms and hands in an intimate position to convey the close interpersonal relationship between the two. The women assume regal poses as they look directly at the camera, demonstrating their high standing in Bamako as leaders of several neighborhood associations. The closeness expressed between the two women is also reflected through the pair's identical outfits. The graphic print of the matching garments contrasts with the swirling arabesque pattern of the back... For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
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Condition_report : Neutral toned print on matte double weight paper with margins. Retouching across image, handling creases on upper left and right corners of print. Upper right corner and edge below have small dings, with rippling of paper on top edge. Sold Framed.
