Le Souffle
1931
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
photogravure
Dimensions
image: 26 × 20.2 cm (10 1/4 × 7 15/16 in.) mount: 37.5 × 27.5 cm (14 3/4 × 10 13/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Robert B. Menschel
Accession Number
2022.154.28.6
Art Historical Context
**Le Souffle by Man Ray (1931)** Step into the enigmatic world of Man Ray with *Le Souffle* ("The Breath"), a captivatingogravure from 1931 now housed in the National Gallery of Art's Department of Photographs. Man Ray, the American-born artist who thrived in Paris's avant scene, was a trailblazer in Dada and Surrealism. By the early 1930s, he had revolutionized photography through experimental techniques like rayographs andization, challenging the medium's documentary roots and embracing dreamlike abstraction. Created during this fertile period, *Le Souffle* exemplifies his playful yet profo...