Le Souffle

Man Ray, Le Souffle, 1931, photogravure, sheet: 10 1⁄4 x 8 in. (26.0 x 20.3 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1976.84.10

Artwork Details

Title
Le Souffle
Artist
Publisher
Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d'Electricite
Date
1931
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 10 1⁄4 x 8 in. (26.0 x 20.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums Description
photogravure
Classifications
Subjects
  • Still life — furniture — stand
  • Still life — other — appliance
  • Object — furniture — fan
Object Number
1976.84.10
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1976.84.10

Artwork Description

In 1931 electricity was considered a luxury in France; most households were still powered by less expensive gas. When electric companies expanded their service to the middle class, an emerging appliance industry enticed housewives with electric-powered devices. Amid these developments, Paris-based power company, la Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d’Electricité (CPDE) commissioned Man Ray to illustrate the myriad uses of electricity in the home. The portfolio of ten photographs was distributed in an edition of five-hundred to CPDE’s shareholders and top clients.
Le Souffle, French for “breeze,” renders the swift, blurred motion of an electric fan in action. This Rayograph, also called a photogram, was created without the use of a camera. Instead, Man Ray placed the fan, blades spinning, inside a darkroom in front of photosensitive paper, and then exposed the paper to light. To add another level of movement to the composition, he physically altered the position of the fan at the moment of exposure. Through his experiments with photographic processes and chance operations, Man Ray demonstrated the dynamic power of light and electricity.


A Democracy of Images: Photographs from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2013

Works by this artist (8 items)

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Isaiah West Taber, Jicorillas Indian, Arizona, ca. 1875, albumen silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Richard A. Marksbury, 2009.35
Jicorillas Indian, Arizona
Artist
Dateca. 1875
albumen silver print
Not on view
Elias A. Bonine, Isaiah West Taber, Pimos Indians, Arizona, ca. 1875, albumen silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.29
Pimos Indians, Arizona
Artist
Dateca. 1875
albumen silver print
Not on view
Carleton E. Watkins, The Grizzly Giant, Mariposa Grove, Yosemite, California, 1861, printed after 1875, albumen silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.278
The Grizzly Giant, Mariposa Grove, Yosemite, California
Artist
Date1861, printed after 1875
albumen silver print
Not on view
Carleton E. Watkins, Isaiah West Taber, Half Dome, Yosemite, California, ca. 1870, printed ca. 1875, albumen silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.279
Half Dome, Yosemite, California
Artist
Dateca. 1870, printed ca. 1875
albumen silver print
Not on view

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daguerreotype with tinting
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Dateca 1850s
daguerreotype
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Image Not Available
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Artist
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charcoal and white chalk on photograph
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Garrison Tales from Tonquin by James O’Neill
Artist
Unidentified
Date19th century
color process print
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