Painlevé, Jean. Lobster Claw, c. 1929. gelatin silver print, Image: 22.9 x 17.3 cm (9 x 6 13/16 in.); Paper: 24.2 x 18.4 cm (9 1/2 x 7 1/4 in.). John L. Severance Fund, 2007.99. Copyrighted.

Lobster Claw

c. 1929

Jean Painlevé

Jean Painlevé (French, 1902–1989)

Photography

Lobster Claw, c. 1929. Jean Painlevé (French, 1902–1989). Gelatin silver print; image: 22.9 x 17.3 cm (9 x 6 13/16 in.); paper: 24.2 x 18.4 cm (9 1/2 x 7 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 2007.99 A hallmark of Surrealism is the ability to get the viewer to look at a commonplace object or scene and suddenly see it differently. By simply removing the object from context and turning the image on end here, the transformation was realized. Its two creators often worked in a documentary mode, but sometimes ventured beyond it to explore the boundaries between Realism and Surrealism.

Original Source

Maker/Artist: Painlevé, Jean
Classification: Photograph
Formatted Medium: gelatin silver print
Medium: gelatin, silver, print
Dimensions: Image: 22.9 x 17.3 cm (9 x 6 13/16 in.); Paper: 24.2 x 18.4 cm (9 1/2 x 7 1/4 in.)
Inscribed: Inscription: Written in blue ink on verso: "Pince de Homard" Written in pencil on verso: "Jean Painleve/1928"
Departments: Photography
Accession Number: 2007.99
Credit Line: John L. Severance Fund
Exhibitions: Accommodations of Desire: Surrealist Works on Paper Collected by Julien Levy, Forbidden Games: Surrealist and Modernist Photography
Rights Statement: Copyrighted