Statue, Paris 1951

This is Robert Frank's photograph, "Statue, Paris," and though undated, its grainy, informal qualities mark it as the work of a photographer seeking to challenge the aesthetic status quo. The image depicts a classical statue of a male figure elevated on a plinth, likely set within one of Paris's many formal gardens. The figure's nudity is contrasted with the dressed figure of a woman at the foot of the statue, who is facing away from us, looking upwards. Frank, a Swiss émigré, was part of a generation seeking to find new visual languages after the Second World War. This photograph reflects the artist’s interest in the relationship between the individual and the monumental, and perhaps something of the outsider's perspective on European culture. Was Frank questioning the cultural significance of classical sculpture? Or perhaps looking at the way traditional monuments function in modern society? The work of the cultural historian can illuminate these questions by tracing the role of classical sculpture within the national and civic identities of post-war Paris.