Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a photographic photography by János Pásztor. It is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The work is a black‑and‑white photograph mounted on a green card, forming part of a collection that William Kineton Parkes donated in 1938.
About this work
Overview
The work is a black‑and‑white photograph mounted on a green card, forming part of a collection that William Kineton Parkes donated in 1938. It records a sculptural composition depicting two figures in formal attire engaged in a handshake, captured with a focus on the carved details of their garments and the texture of the stone.
Subject & Meaning
The image presents a pair of sculpted persons: one in a long, hooded robe and cap, the other in a wide‑brimmed hat, loose coat, and walking stick. Their solemn expressions and the act of shaking hands suggest a formal or ceremonial encounter, rendered in a way that emphasizes the gravity of the gesture.
Technique & Style
The photograph renders the stone figures in stark monochrome, highlighting the careful carving of folds, textures, and facial features, which appear slightly blurred. The composition isolates the pedestal and the figures, allowing the viewer to appreciate the sculptural relief without distraction.
History & Provenance
The picture originated as a response to questionnaires that Parkes circulated among sculptors in the 1920s, documenting contemporary sculptural practice. It entered the Archive of Art and Design as part of Parkes’s research materials and was later included in his 1938 donation to the museum.
Context
Parkes, a noted scholar of sculpture, used the questionnaire project to gather visual and textual data on current sculptors. This photograph therefore serves as a visual record of the type of figurative work being produced and the stylistic preferences of that period.
Artist & collection
Artist
János Pásztor left behind a single untitled photograph in this set. It’s a straightforward, small-format black-and-white image—no title, no date, no studio mark—just a quiet slice of a moment caught in the late 19th- or…
