Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a photographic photography by Eric Henri Kennington. It is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
It was submitted in response to Parkes’s 1920s survey of sculptors, intended to document their work and methods.
This black-and-white photograph, attributed to Eric Henri Kennington, is mounted on green card and forms part of a larger archive assembled by William Kineton Parkes. It was submitted in response to Parkes’s 1920s survey of sculptors, intended to document their work and methods. The image is one of many photographic contributions collected for the Archive of Art and Design, reflecting a systematic effort to record artistic practice through visual documentation.
Subject & Meaning
The portrait captures a profile view of a human face, rendered with quiet intensity. The subject’s identity is not recorded, emphasizing form over individuality. The composition invites contemplation of the sculptural qualities of the human head—its contours, volume, and the interplay of light and shadow. It functions less as a personal likeness and more as an anatomical study, aligned with the sculptors’ focus on structure and mass.
Technique & Style
The photograph employs chiaroscuro to define the facial structure through subtle gradations of tone. Soft modeling around the eyes and mouth suggests rounded flesh, while the dark background isolates the head, enhancing its three-dimensionality. The plain setting and absence of detail direct attention to the silhouette of the jaw and cheekbone, highlighting the artist’s sensitivity to light as a means of sculptural representation in two dimensions.
History & Provenance
The photograph was included in a collection bequeathed to the Archive of Art and Design by William Kineton Parkes in 1938. Parkes had circulated questionnaires to sculptors during the 1920s, requesting both written responses and visual materials. This image was among the photographic submissions received, preserved as part of a broader effort to document the working practices and aesthetic concerns of early 20th-century sculptors.
Context
During the 1920s, artists and scholars increasingly sought to systematize the study of sculpture through documentation. Parkes’s survey was part of this trend, aiming to create a reference archive for future study. Photographs like this one served as visual supplements to written accounts, offering direct insight into how sculptors perceived and represented the human form, often blurring the line between portraiture and anatomical study.
Legacy
The photograph endures as a quiet example of how photography was used to support art-historical research in the early 20th century. It reflects a methodical approach to preserving artistic practice, prioritizing clarity and formal analysis over expressive flair. Today, it remains a valuable artifact within the Archive of Art and Design, offering researchers a glimpse into the visual language of sculptors during a period of transition in modern art.
Artist & collection
Artist
This artist made photographs in a time before color film took over. One untitled photograph in our bundle shows quiet corners of London between the wars—empty doorways, rain-slicked streets, the kind of image that…
