by Ellen von Unwerth
The Tramp, Eva Herzigova, 1993
Artist: Ellen von Unwerth
Made in 1993, this archival pigment print is a close portrait of Eva Herzigova in a black top hat and sequinned costume, curls falling loose, exhaling a slow curl of smoke from painted lips as her eyes cut to the side. Von Unwerth frames tight in soft, high-key black and white, the film border left ragged and the whole image lit like a Weimar cabaret. The gaze is cool, amused and entirely in charge.
Read as fine art, the picture is a study in cross-dressed swagger, the top hat and tails borrowing Dietrich’s androgynous cabaret glamour and handing it to a supermodel who wears it like armour. The theme, fitting its title, is the tramp as showman: a knowing performance of masculine cool by a woman completely in command of the pose. Von Unwerth’s signature is exactly this play with role and disguise, staging theatre while leaving her subject the last word. The work suits an intimate, considered interior where a monochrome portrait rewards close looking, and speaks to collectors drawn to fashion photography’s crossover into fine art. Ellen von Unwerth’s photographs are issued as limited editions, each print part of a controlled run.
Sizes & Editions
101.6 × 152.4 × 2.5 cm (40 × 60 × 1 in), Archival Pigment Print, edition of 5
Size: medium
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