Behind scenes--Filming "Landammann Stauffacher" 1941

Robert Frank's gelatin silver print, "Behind scenes--Filming "Landammann Stauffacher," provides a glimpse behind the camera. The photograph captures a film set, likely in Switzerland, given the subject of the film being made. Frank, known for his outsider's perspective, turns his lens away from the heroic narrative of Landammann Stauffacher, a legendary Swiss figure, and instead focuses on the everyday reality of filmmaking. This choice reveals a tension between national myth-making and the mundane labor required to produce such narratives. Consider the institutional context: how do film studios and national narratives intersect? What role do images play in constructing and reinforcing national identity? By looking at production stills and film ephemera, and by researching the history of Swiss cinema and its relationship to national identity, we can better understand the social and institutional forces that shape both the film and Frank's photograph.