Famous portrait of Emiliano Zapata is not Hugo Brehme
After careful analysis of a negative, denied that the German photographer Hugo Brehme (1882-1954) was the author of an iconic image of the Mexican Revolution, the portrait of Emiliano Zapata.
The call Leader appears in that full-length portrait, with his rifle in his right hand, left arm leaning on his sword and a band covering her breasts under the holsters. Mayra Mendoza Aviles, deputy director of the Library's National Institute of Anthropology and History and a specialist in Brehme's work reveals that in the above reproduction or negative impression of the Institute-custody "is possible to notice, under the tip of the sword the character, the print was signed in English with handwritten calligraphy: Zapata, Photo and Copyright by FM ". According to researcher, the famous portrait was attributed to Hugo Brehme since 1995 "without any historical reference or documentary, and the exhibition Mexico: a nation persistent. No credible testimony indicated that it did, however, began an unsubstantiated myth that has survived until our day. " In fact, the famous photo of Zapata, who like the Argentine-Cuban guerrilla Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Korda, has been reproduced in countless books, magazines, posters and jerseys could be the work of some little-known American photographer named F. Moray or F. McKay. Holds specialist, perhaps the mistake was due, among other things, to know that Brehme was in the headquarters of Zapata and caught several famous photographs, like brothers and Eufemio Emiliano Zapata, and their wives. Some puzzles about the photo in question have been clarified with the passage of time, for example, place and year taken: the Montezuma Hotel, Cuernavaca, Morelos, in 1911 and its first appearance in print: The Fair , April 16, 1913. For Mayra Mendoza there are four elements that prevent the attribution to Hugo Brehme: the first is the use of handwriting than that of the German photographer and his collaborators who headlined the plates. The firm FM, unrelated to the study of Brehme. Second, Hugo Brehme not used to make annotations in handwriting images, and all the legends on the edges of settled in uppercase print.
Third, there are no indications that the author Germanic practice the English language, in their impressions always emphasized the Spanish, and when he used another language was German. "The fourth argument is that in none of the collections abroad Brehme is possible to locate the portrait of Zapata, much less signed and sealed by him, as invariably happens with his other pieces," he said. All of the above-said "leads us to question his authorship and attributed the power of the work to F. Moray or McKay. In none of them have news, although it is possible that this is not widely used by American photographers, like so many who crossed the Mexican border during the revolutionary period. However, the enigmas surrounding the portrait of Emiliano Zapata did not end there. Aviles Mendoza relates that "there may be two versions of the same image, taken by two different authors.
This (the FM, which refers to inquiry) that caught the eye of the leader, and another taken by a photographer whose revolutionary leader directed the gaze. " "Either way, none of them left the lens of Hugo Brehme, who, by 1911, was an established photographer, also a portrait of study and hard work on request it can be placed as a direct collaborator of the Agency Casasola, as has been discussed on several occasions. The images of him are in the Casasola Fund, the National Photo Library, they are vintage prints and original negatives, but reproduction (negative impression) from your photos. "The famous photograph has been reproduced countless times, from some of the negative copy of the 20 belonging to the National Photo Gallery. Highlights appearances Historical Album Chart and the various editions of the Graphic History of the Mexican Revolution, to a host of publications, "noted also deputy director of National Photographic Libraries System (SINAFO).
In his vocation as a chronicle of photography, Mayra Mendoza announces the details of this research in the latest issue (36) Alchemy magazine, organ of diffusion of SINAFO dedicated to Carlos Jurado and art of the apprehension of images .
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