ROGER SCHALL 1904-1995 - Lot 39

ROGER SCHALL 1904-1995 The Two Men, Avenue de New-York, Paris, 1935. Photograph. Silver print ca. 2010, dry stamp of the Succession under the image. Image: 17.2 x 16.3 cm; sheet: 23.9 x 18.5 cm Roger Schall is sensitive to the atmospheres of wet cobblestones, fog-shrouded streets, illuminated by streetlamps or neon lights, which he likes to use for photomontages made of multiple exposures. This was the mood of many films of the period - whether by Marcel Carné, Jean Renoir, Jean Grémillon or Jacques Feyder - and of American film noir as well. Black and white, perfectly mastered by Schall, an excellent technician, lends itself particularly well to the rendering of these atmospheres, with their great contrasts of light and strong contrasts. The low sensitivity of the film often necessitates long exposure times. "Schall brings hidden, dark and enigmatic spaces into dialogue with the grandeur and electric lights of wide boulevards, signs and monuments." Eric Boudry, ARGENTIC gallery director at the "Paris by Night" exhibition in 2015.