Tina Modotti

1920s Silver Gelatin Print by Tina Modotti of a Drawing by Clemente Orozco

1920's

An original 1920s silver gelatin print by photographer Tina Modotti, showing a fresco in the Agricultural School-Chapingo, Mexico by artist Diego Rivera. Photo is stamped “Photographs-Tina Modotti Mexico, D.F.” on reverse. Photograph size: 6 7/8" x 9 5/8". Archivally matted to 16” x 20” Tina Modotti was born in Udine, Italy in 1896 and by the age of 14 she was supporting her entire family by working in a local silk factory. Modotti’s father emigrated to San Francisco, sending for his family in 1913. Modotti was hired in the sewing room at the I. Magnin department store, but her great beauty attracted the attention of her superiors who then employed her to model the store’s fashions. In 1915, Modotti attended San Francisco’s Pan-Pacific Exposition, where she got her first look at Modern art and photography. She also met her first husband at the Exposition, painter and poet Roubaix de l’Abrie Richey. At this time Modotti began acting in local Italian theatre and was discovered by a talent scout for the new silent film industry in Hollywood. She arrived in Los Angeles in 1918 and was cast in “The Tiger’s Coat” and “I Can Explain”. Through her Hollywood connections, Modotti met the married photographer Edward Weston, with whom she began an affair. Modotti was a favorite subject of Weston’s photographs, but moreover he taught her the art of photography. She actually ran Weston’s studio in exchange for photography lessons. Due to the on-going affair between Modotti and Weston, Modotti’s husband moved to Mexico where he died of smallpox. This tragedy and the death of her father made Modotti dissatisfied with Hollywood. Modotti and Weston arrived in Mexico in 1923 at a time when the country was in the midst of a social, political and cultural revolution. She photographed the Mexican...

An original 1920s silver gelatin print by photographer Tina Modotti, showing a Diego Rivera fresco in the Secretariat of Education in Mexico City, Mexico. Photo is stamped “Photogra...

An original 1920s silver gelatin print by photographer Tina Modotti, showing a fresco, "The Spirit of Fire", in the Agricultural School-Chapingo, Mexico by artist Diego Rivera. Phot...

Original gelatin silver print by Photographer Tina Modotti. Stamped “Photographs-Tina Modotti Mexico, D.F.” on reverse. Photograph size: 7 5/6" x 9 5/8". Archivally matted to 16...

JOSE CLEMENTE OROZCO (1883 – 1949) CABEZA DE MUJER, ( Woman's Head: Mexican Woman) 1929 (Orozco 9) Lithograph, signed and numbered 23/50. in pencil. Pri...

JOSE CLEMENTE OROZCO (Mexican, 1883-1949) MACHINES, (aka Dos cabezas y Maquinas, Dos Cabezas, Maquinas) 1935 (Orozco 26) Lithograph. Image 12 x 17 inches. Full margins, sheet 16 x 2...

A miner emerges from the shadows of a tunnel in this lithograph by Francisco Mora. He looks overworked and tired. This litho was part of a collection of pieces that were created to a...

JOSE CLEMENTE OROZCO (1893 – 1949) WOMEN, 1934 ( Orozco 25) Lithograph, One of 127 signed & unnumbered impressions, (total printed 255) Printer Jesus Arteaga. Image 12 1/2 x 17 inches, sheet 17 x 23 inches. Large sheet. top sheet edge with deckle edge and with some remnants of old old tape. Some slight mat burn verso., just a hint on the recto. This impression is also dedicated to Rosita Boyce by Clemente Orozco - (the Artist's Son) in 1961 From "Jose Clemente Orozco - Graphic Work" by Clemente Orozco, University of Texas Press, 2004. "The image is a detail of the Mural "Contemporary World" in the Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico City. The mural depicts "the real prostitution of power is implied by prostitutes fighting for survival. in a game of exuberance and decadence. The theme of women, especially prostitutes, has a special significance in Orozco's work, from his early watercolors to this fresco.." This print is related to Orozco's MACHINES also on 1stdibs offered by this dealer. Mexican Prints...