Original Albert Einstein and Rabindranath Tagore

Description: In the 1920's and 30's the idea that Albert Einstein and Rabindranath Tagore were friends and discussed the nature of the universe was newsworthy. Both great men were Nobel laureates. Einstein was plumbing the nature of the universe through a scientific lens and Tagore was doing the same through a mystic's and poet's lens. Their meetings took place three or four times and in March of 1931 their discussion was recorded and the New York Times discussed their meeting in an article titled: Einstein and Tagore Plumb the Truth. The most famous photograph of the two men was taken by my grandfather, Martin Vos. The shot of the men together is displayed above but not for sale. This shot of the men together sold for thousands some years back. Instead, the two apart are for sale. Martin Vos was a famous portrait photographer of the day and had been FDR's family photographer for years. There are numerous photographs by Martin Vos of FDR and famous people of the day, 1925-1950, to be found when googled. There are famous pictures of FDR, Yeats, Einstein, etc. In late 1930 Tagore, having won the Nobel in Literature in 1913 made his last visit to the United States. He spent time in NYC and weeks before these photographs were taken, 500 guests honored Tagore at a dinner in NYC. At the dinner was Governor FDR of New York, Sinclair Lewis, and a number of important men of the day. Martin Vos, well regarded as an artist, was present, and introduced to Tagore by his good friend FDR. Tagore requested Martin Vos photograph Tagore and Einstein when Albert Einstein was in New York in the coming weeks. Tagore was going to be speaking at Carnegie Hall and Einstein was slated to attend. The photograph of Tagore and Einstein has become an iconic shot. It was used in a postage stamp at one point. Historians wrongly have claimed that the photograph was taken in Germany. Some get it right and say that it was taken in New York. Martin Vos never went to Europe until after WWII. While Einstein was likely living in California at the time, he would often be visiting Princeton where he was lecturing. It wasn't until 1933 that Einstein occupied an office in Princeton. These shots were taken in NYC in my grandfather's studio which was on Broadway. What makes these types of photographs so rare has everything to do with the technology and the limited ability to take such shots. First, quality portraits needed to employ a large-format camera which was both enormous and used a bellow system. The lenses were difficult to operate, and lighting was complex. Images were captured on glass plates which were the negatives. Like 35mm film of today, the glass plates were coated in light sensitive chemicals. Celluloid film was not yet being used. Each photograph meant that you had to load a 6.5 x 8.5 glass plate to the back of the camera. The plates were housed in a wood or metal box which was affixed to the back of the camera. Lighting was adjusted, and the shutter was open. The back of the camera was removed, and a new glass plate had to be inserted. Since there was no way of telling how the shots were coming out, a photographer could shoot dozens of plates per sitting. Each shot required an adjustment of the lens, the lighting, and a positioning of the subjects. What may have been an exciting notion, getting your portrait taken, soon was hell for the subjects who were busy, had long lost their love of being photographed, and didn't enjoy taking directions from a growingly impatient photographer. Catching the image on the original glass negative was only half the battle. Printing was a difficult art which photographers almost always did themselves. There were dozens of techniques to transfer the image from the glass negative to the paper. You would enlarge, crop, block, burn, blur, enhance, parts of the paper to create clarity, shading, and blurring areas. With today's digital photography we have little idea of the immense work and skill which went into large format shots which were printed on photographic paper. For instance, Ansel Adams shots are worth a great deal of money if Adams was the person who printed the photograph. Otherwise, it is a glamorous postcard. Adam's shots were amazing, and his printing technique is what brought the true magic to a conclusion. Likewise, Martin Vos was known to take some of the more iconic portraits and to use the printing process to create dream-like images. If you look closely at the portraits of the two men, Einstein and Tagore, you will see how some parts of the image, the face, are sharp. The hair is sharp in the front but starts to fade/blur towards the rear. The wall behind the men is rather blurred. The wall behind the men was treated differently despite it being the same white wall when they are together in the shot. The background was changed for Tagore and Martin Vos draped the back with a dark cloth. Tagore the mystic was given a dark and forbidding wall and Einstein, was given a dreamy cloud like wall. The negatives have a rather different look than what ended up being printed. This recreation during the printing process is what made the difference between good and great photographers. Martin Vos took several hours photographing Einstein and Tagore. There were a number of shots of the men together and Martin took advantage to photograph the men separately. While the two of them together become an iconic image, I have always loved them separately. Martin explained that getting two men, together, to bare the truth of their soul was most difficult. Yet, he could work with one of them and help them relax, contemplate, and then Martin could take a series of shots individual shots. Martin would often note the lost and flat expressions of the two men when they were both in the shot and how as individuals, you could almost see their personalities. Martin would laugh and say "they were remarkable individuals, not Siamese twins!" For the collector, this is a one in a lifetime chance. I will not be splitting the images up. They must be together. The inside image, is 8 x 9. The outside of the frames are 15 x 17. My feedback is perfect. Questions? Ask.

Price: 8200 USD

Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918

End Time: 2025-01-05T16:41:41.000Z

Shipping Cost: 60 USD