A groundbreaking exhibition at Mai Manó House in Budapest is bringing long-overdue recognition to Rogi André, one of the most formidable photographers of the 1930s who remains largely unknown today. The exhibition, titled "Rogi André: More Light, More Shadow," runs from July 2, 2025, through August 19, 2025, with exceptional support from the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Born Rosa Klein in Budapest in 1900, Rogi André's journey to photographic greatness began when she moved to Paris in 1925, following initial studies at the Budapest Academy of Fine Arts. Paris, then the European center of avant-garde art, proved to be the perfect environment for her artistic development. It was there that she met fellow Hungarian artist André Kertész (1894-1985), whom she married in 1928. Under Kertész's influence, she discovered photography and began developing her distinctive artistic voice.
André's early commercial success came through nude photography, but her career truly flourished after her divorce from Kertész in 1932. Taking the name Rogi André, she pursued an independent path that would establish her as a master portraitist. Her photographs are distinguished by the remarkable calm and concentration she captured in her subjects, revealing defining character traits with extraordinary precision.
Among her most celebrated works are portraits that seem to capture the very essence of their subjects: the intellectual superiority of Marcel Duchamp, the artistic austerity of Piet Mondrian, and the elegant gravity of Dora Maar. This precise capture was achieved through André's methodical approach, using large-format cameras with long exposure times that demanded patience from both photographer and subject.
André's technical mastery extended beyond the camera into the darkroom, where she would scratch and draw on negatives to achieve special effects. One notable example is a portrait of Pablo Picasso featuring radiant pupils created through this innovative technique. Combined with her carefully measured lighting and disdain for instant photography, these methods produced images that have been compared to those of Nadar, the legendary 19th-century portrait photographer.
The photographer's attention to her models and her distinctive personality contributed significantly to the quality of her work. Her empathetic approach and refusal to rush the photographic process resulted in portraits of extraordinary depth and character. This methodology proved particularly effective when photographing the era's most prominent cultural figures.
Rogi André also secured her place in the history of surrealist photography. In 1937, her work was featured in André Breton's influential book "L'Amour fou" (Mad Love), placing her alongside photography giants Brassaï, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Man Ray, and Dora Maar. Notably, she also created a brilliantly composed portrait of Dora Maar, demonstrating her ability to capture fellow artists with remarkable insight.
Despite her significant contributions to photography, André's work has received limited recognition over the decades. Forty years ago, publisher José Alvares dedicated a sublime book to her work, but it went largely unnoticed by the broader public and art community. This current exhibition represents a crucial opportunity to reassess her contributions to 20th-century photography.
The Budapest exhibition presents André's entire body of work, showcasing both newly discovered photographs and her well-known portraits of cultural luminaries including Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti, Dora Maar, and Peggy Guggenheim. The display ranges from evocative individual portraits to broader studies of social life, providing a comprehensive view of her artistic evolution and thematic interests.
One of the most touching testimonials to André's skill comes from the French writer Colette, who was photographed by André in 1947 when the writer was 74 years old. Colette's joy at the resulting portrait led her to write: "For Rogi André, to whom I owe the fact that I still look like a woman." This eloquent statement serves as a testament to André's empathetic intuition and her ability to capture not just physical appearance, but the essence of femininity and dignity in her elderly subject.
The exhibition is housed at Mai Manó House, also known as the Hungarian House of Photography, located at Nagymező u. 20, 1065 Budapest, Hungary. The venue is open Tuesday through Sunday from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., and remains closed on Mondays and public holidays. More information is available at www.maimano.hu.
This retrospective represents more than just an art exhibition; it's an opportunity to rediscover a pioneering female photographer who worked during an era when women faced significant barriers in the arts. Rogi André's story, from her beginnings as Rosa Klein in Budapest to her emergence as a master portraitist in Paris, reflects the broader narrative of artistic migration and cultural exchange that characterized the early 20th century. Her technical innovations, empathetic approach to portraiture, and connections to the surrealist movement position her as a significant figure who deserves recognition alongside her more famous contemporaries.
The exhibition title "More Light, More Shadow" aptly captures both André's photographic technique and her position in art history – a master of light and shadow who has herself remained too long in the shadows of art historical recognition.
