(REVIEW) PARIS — Erwin Blumenfeld was the perfect fashion photographer. His work with light and color allowed him to create striking portraits of the female face and form, and his unique editorial style conveyed both beauty and violence depending on the subject. 

Blumenfeld was a German Jew who was affected greatly by both world wars, becoming a renowned photographer against all odds. He deserted during World War I after his brother’s death in 1918 and was nearly executed. At the beginning of World War II, Blumenfeld was imprisoned in a number of French internment camps before finally immigrating to the U.S. in 1941. 

There, his work was truly allowed to thrive, and his fashion photography graced the cover of several magazines, like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. 

The Museum of the Art and History of Judaism in Paris is showcasing this work in over 180 photographs with the temporary exhibit “The Trials and Tribulations of Erwin Blumenfeld, 1930-1950.” It spans Blumenfeld’s most active and influential period. 

It contains work being displayed for the first time: Bulmenfeld’s documentation of San Ildefonso rituals in New Mexico from 1947 and the pilgrimage of a gypsy family in France from 1928 to 1932. 

In particular, Blumenfeld was an early master of superimposed portraits, the practice of layering one or more images atop another. His work, influenced deeply by Judaism and the war that forced him to live as a persecuted nomad for much of his life, is unforgettable both in the context of fashion editorials and meaningful portrayals of suffering.

Women as sculptures, sculptures as women

In 1937, Blumenfeld photographed the sculptures of French artist Aristide Maillol. The photographs breathe life into the sculptures beyond their plaster. A photograph of Maillol’s “Trois Nymphes” is imbued with joy and grace, the nymphs appearing to dance with each other. A close-up of Maillol’s “La Nuit” is intimate and sensual, conveying a feeling entirely different from the sculpture itself. 

Blumenfeld’s photographs of women, however, are both stoic and surreal. Blumenfeld offered them with a range of techniques to make them appear surreal or statuesque. 

Portraits taken of a woman named Margarethe von Sievers are altered in different ways to produce different effects. One, in which only her naked torso is visible, is covered on all sides with what looks like wrinkled fabric. Her figure is perfectly taut, the fabric that covers her as good as carved marble. In another, her body is outlined in stark contrast using solarization techniques. If it wasn’t for her face tilted up toward the camera, she would appear to be a mere object. 

In “L’âme du torse,” a woman’s head rests atop the torso of an armless statue. It may be a more seamless portrait, but the head is intentionally off-center and by nature off-putting. 

In his lens, flesh and stone become indistinguishable. In that dichotomy, Blumenfeld unlocks the secret to the display of fashion. When transformed into objects, women make for beautiful art; beautiful art, when it reflects femininity well, is all the more beautiful.

‘The Minotaur or the Dictator’

Blumenfeld was also an early critic of Adolf Hitler, his work more visceral and severe than that of other artists. On the night Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933, Blumenfeld created a series of photographs in which he superimposed images of a skull atop the soon-to-be führer’s face. Other work included Hitler’s face with painted-on blood dripping from the eyes and mouth. 

Before the war even began, Blumenfeld had identified Hitler exactly as he was: an omen of death. 

Other notable work on Hitler involved “The Minotaur or the Dictator,” images of a calf head on top of a man’s bust. The photos, taken in black-and-white, are contrasted with deep shadows. In one, the calf’s head is caressed by a pair of worshipful human hands. They make for an imposing set of images, striking a feeling of dread even if it’s not immediately clear why. 

During the 1900s, the minotaur was used as a symbol in art to represent man’s violent nature and came to represent the visage of dictators who arose to power during the century. Blumenfeld’s work in particular has been connected to the Old Testament pagan god Moloch, who’s depicted as a minotaur and is known as the recipient of child sacrifice.  

American culture and patriotism

Blumenfeld’s work in the U.S. continued to address the war, though it took on a distinctly pro-American feel. 

“The Women Who Serve” was on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar in 1943, depicting a woman in uniform surrounded by four suspended American flags. The issue contained stories about women working men’s civilian jobs during the war, Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in North Africa and more. The cover model depicts the ideal of high fashion and the severity of the world at war: She’s a made-up natural beauty who’s as rigid as a soldier, staring ahead with determination. 

In March of 1945, Blumenfeld’s work graced the cover of Vogue with a tribute and call to action for readers to support the Red Cross. The photo depicts an elegantly-dressed woman — whose features are blurred, save for her gloves — standing behind the Red Cross logo in vibrant red. The issue by and large doesn’t discuss the specifics of the war, but the table of contents lays out the life of the woman shown: “The woman behind the Red Cross is not in uniform. She has Time to give, Money to give, Blood to give. Without her the Red Cross could not exist.” 

Work like this both aided the American war effort by way of morale and public support and retained Blumenfeld’s skill for photography using color, light and the female form. His work always conveys a sharp sense of the world and the ideas which make it up, whether they be ideas about politics, religion or beauty; it also stands to reason that a German who had lived in France and the Netherlands understood American patriotism so well because it had been his only escape in a time of displacement and persecution. 

After all, Blumenfeld’s chief interest was photography, and his ability despite his trials to succeed so greatly is a testament to his work and his life. 

As he said in a 1958 issue of Popular Photography, and is displayed boldly in the exhibit, “I was an amateur — I am an amateur — and I intend to stay an amateur. To me an amateur is one who is in love with taking pictures, a free soul who can photograph what he likes and likes what he photographs.” 

The Trials and Tribulations of Erwin Blumenfeld, 1930-1950, is on view at the Museum of the Art and History of Judaism until March 5, 2023. Visit the mahJ website for more information. 

Jillian Cheney is a contributing culture writer for Religion Unplugged. She also writes on American Protestantism and evangelical Christianity and was Religion Unplugged’s 2020-21 Poynter-Koch fellow. You can find her on Twitter @_jilliancheney.