Tina Modotti

1920s Gelatin Silver Print by Tina Modotti: Painting by Manuel Rodriguez Lozano

ca. 1920s

An original 1920s silver gelatin print by famed photographer Tina Modotti, showing a mural fresco by Diego Rivera in the Agricultural School-Chapingo, Mexico. Photo is stamped “Photographs-Tina Modotti Mexico, D.F.” on reverse. Photograph size: 6 7/8 x 9 5/8 inches. Archivally matted to 16 x 20 inches. 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...

Original gelatin silver print by Photographer Tina Modotti of a mural Fresco by Diego Rivera. Stamped “Photographs-Tina Modotti Mexico, D.F.” on reverse. Photograph size: 7 5/6 x...

An original 1920s silver gelatin print by famed photographer Tina Modotti, showing a mural fresco in the Secretariat of Education in Mexico City by artist Diego Rivera. Photo is sta...

An original 1920s gelatin silver print by famed photographer Tina Modotti, depicting a mural fresco by Diego Rivera in the Secretariat of Education in Mexico City, Mexico. Photo is ...

Vintage Photograph of Vintage Painting by Beppe Guzzi is a black and white vintage photo realized by an anonymous artist in the early 20th Century. Good conditions except for some m...

Photograph of a Painting by Beppe Guzzi is a black and white vintage photo realized by an anonymous artist in the mid-20th Century. Good conditions except for some minor fixings. T...

Photograph of a Painting by Beppe Guzzi is a black and white vintage photo realized by an anonymous artist in the 20th Century. Good conditions except for some minor fixings. The a...

Photograph of a Painting by Beppe Guzzi is a black and white vintage photo realized by an anonymous artist in the mid-20th Century. Good conditions except for some minor fixings. T...