Loading
Isadora Duncan in the Parthenon, Athens
Edward Steichen1921
The Toledo Museum of Art
Toledo, United States
Details
- Title: Isadora Duncan in the Parthenon, Athens
- Creator: Edward Jean Steichen
- Creator Lifespan: 1879 - 1973
- Creator Nationality: American
- Date Created: 1921
- Location Created: North America
- Physical Dimensions: w360 x h502 cm (Complete)
- Type: Photograph
- Rights: Gift of The Apollo Society
- External Link: http://classes.toledomuseum.org:8080/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/123/41
- Medium: Gelatin-silver chloro-bromide print
- Fun Fact: In 1921, standing in the portico of the Parthenon in Athens, the famed dancer Isadora Duncan produced a poetic gesture mimicking the classical architecture surrounding her for the camera of Edward Steichen. Duncan was a spiritual and artistic presence, considered to be an embodiment of pure beauty and magic. She inspired artists and writers throughout Europe and America, and in the Parthenon she inspired Steichen to forever fix the poetry of her pose on photographic film. After running into each other in Venice, Duncan convinced Steichen to accompany her to Athens, promising to let him make a film of her. Once there, Duncan refused to cooperate. Steichen's wife, Joanna, recalled of the incident: "[Isadora's] style in movement and costume was based on classical Greek imagery and, faced with the real thing, she was overwhelmed. Steichen settled for borrowing a Kodak camera from the headwaiter at his hotel. Standing among the ancient, sacred stones of the Acropolis, Isadora felt she was too much of an intruder to move, but finally she managed to produce the two appropriate gestures that Steichen recorded." Isadora Duncan in the Parthenon (also know as Isadora Duncan—Columns of the Parthenon) beautifully exemplifies the last moments of Steichen's Pictorialist period. Pictorialism—an application of the principles of painting to photography—was a rebuttal of the generally accepted notion that photography was a scientific process, useful for recording facts but lacking the ability to invoke an emotional response from the viewer. Steichen, along with photographer and gallery owner Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946), set out to change this narrow interpretation. They were founders of the Photo-Secession group in 1903 and are, in no small part, responsible for elevating photography to its acceptance as a great art form.
Get the app
Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more
You are all set!
Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.