Artworks

Untitled, #59, 1956–57

  • Artist

    Seydou Keïta

  • Title

    Untitled, #59

  • Date

    1956–57

  • Medium

    Gelatin silver print

  • Dimensions

    Image: 22 × 15 1/2 in. (55.9 × 39.4 cm), Sheet: 24 × 19 3/4 in. (61 × 50.2 cm)

  • Edition

    Edition 3/10

  • Credit line

    The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of Anne Ehrenkranz

  • Object Number

    2008.2

In 1948, Seydou Keïta founded his photography studio in the emerging neighborhood of Bamako-Coura in Mali. In images rendered with intense clarity and crisp attention to form, he focused on the forging of social identities and the importance of self-fashioning. Using patterned textile backdrops to create a formal setting for his studio portraits, Keïta often took photographs from a low angle, making the sitters appear larger. Here, the weight of the young woman’s presence is further emphasized by her deliberate and assured pose.


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Artworks

Untitled, #59, 1956–57

  • Artist

    Seydou Keïta

  • Title

    Untitled, #59

  • Date

    1956–57

  • Medium

    Gelatin silver print

  • Dimensions

    Image: 22 × 15 1/2 in. (55.9 × 39.4 cm), Sheet: 24 × 19 3/4 in. (61 × 50.2 cm)

  • Edition

    Edition 3/10

  • Credit line

    The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of Anne Ehrenkranz

  • Object Number

    2008.2

In 1948, Seydou Keïta founded his photography studio in the emerging neighborhood of Bamako-Coura in Mali. In images rendered with intense clarity and crisp attention to form, he focused on the forging of social identities and the importance of self-fashioning. Using patterned textile backdrops to create a formal setting for his studio portraits, Keïta often took photographs from a low angle, making the sitters appear larger. Here, the weight of the young woman’s presence is further emphasized by her deliberate and assured pose.


Explore further