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Tina Modotti

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Tina Modotti

Edward Weston, n.d., Tina Modotti, Glendale, Platinum print, Sotheby's - New York, LL/47157

Tina Modotti

Other: Tina Assunta Adelaide Luigia Modotti

Born: 1896, 16 August - Italy, Udine
Died: 1942, 6 January - Mexico, Mexico City
Gender: Female
Active: Mexico

Italian politically active photographer who was most active in Mexico between 1923 and 1930. She was a companion of Edward Weston and moved in 1923 to Mexico City with her agreeing to work for nothing in his darkroom in exchange for his mentorship. The period was one of declining pictorialism and a move to the "straight photography" of Modernism and her own work included traits from both. As Weston and Modotti became increasing involved in the political turmoil of Mexico her photographs became more "revolutionary" and politically charged and she found publications that matched her goals including El Machete, Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung (AIZ), and New Masses. The Modernist nudes they took of each other had a profound impact on the photography of the naked form.

Genealogy of Tina Modotti

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Lightbox > Portraits

Edward Weston, n.d., Tina Modotti, Glendale, Platinum print, Sotheby's - New York, LL/47157

Image: LL/47157

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Tina Modotti, 1901, Tina Modotti at the age of four years. Ferlach, Austria, Gelatin silver print, Galerie Bilderwelt, LL/103229

Image: LL/103229

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Walter Frederick Seely, 1921, Tina Modotti and Robo, Gelatin silver print, Galerie Bilderwelt, LL/103224

Image: LL/103224

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Edward Weston, 1921 (taken) 1930 (identification card), Press identification card issued to Modotti (1896-1942) by Union Foto. Berlin 1930. The Photo was taken by Edward Weston in Los Angeles in 1921., Gelatin silver print, Galerie Bilderwelt, LL/103230

Image: LL/103230

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Edward Weston, 1922 (taken) 1980s (print), Tina, Glendale [Tina Modotti], Silver print, Swann Galleries - New York, LL/59523

Image: LL/59523

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Edward Weston, 1923, Tina Modotti, Mexico, Photograph, Internet - Original source ill-defined, LL/77402

Image: LL/77402

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Edward Weston, 1923 (ca), Tina Modotti, Gelatin silver print, Getty Images, LL/115019

Image: LL/115019

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Edward Weston, 1923 (taken, printed later), Nude (Tina on the Beach), Gelatin silver print, Sotheby's - New York, LL/58534

Image: LL/58534

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Edward Weston, 1924, Nude, Tina Modotti, Gelatin silver print, J. Paul Getty Museum, LL/50614

Image: LL/50614

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Edward Weston, 1924, Tina Modotti reciting poetry, Platinum print, George Eastman Museum, LL/69913

Image: LL/69913

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Enrique Diaz, 1929, Tina Modotti and Diego Rivera. Reenactment of the murder of Julio Antonio Mella by the police. Mexico City, 16th January, 1929. Mella (1903-1929) was murdered by a Cuban agent while walking down the street with Modotti (1896-1942), Gelatin silver print, Galerie Bilderwelt, LL/103227

Image: LL/103227

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Enrique Diaz, 1929, Tina Modotti. A meeting after the murder of Julio Antonio Mella. Mexico City, 17th January, 1929. Mella was murdered by a Cuban agent while walking down the street with Modotti (1896-1942), who is seen standing, Gelatin silver print, Galerie Bilderwelt, LL/103228

Image: LL/103228

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Approved biographies

Wikipedia

Tina Modotti (born Assunta Adelaide Luigia Modotti Mondini, August 16/17, 1896 - January 5, 1942) was an Italian and American photographer, model, actor, and revolutionary political activist for the Comintern. She left her native Italy in 1913 and emigrated to the United States, where she settled in San Francisco with her father and sister. In San Francisco, Modotti worked as a seamstress, model, and theater performer and, later, moved to Los Angeles where she worked in film. She later became a photographer and essayist. In 1922 she moved to Mexico, where she became an active member of the Mexican Communist Party.

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