Ergy Landau

Ergy Landau
Self portrait, 1930 (ca)
Born1896 (1896)
Budapest, Hungary
Died1967 (aged 70–71)
Paris, France
NationalityHungarian-French
Known forPhotography

Ergy or Erzsy Landau (1896–1967)[1] was a Hungarian-French humanist photographer.

Born in Budapest, Landau worked in Franz Xaver Setzer's Vienna studio and then in Rudolf Dührkoop's studio in Berlin. She had photographed the German writer Thomas Mann and her painter/photographer friend, László Moholy-Nagy, whom she introduced to the medium. In May 1922 she emigrated to Paris, where she established herself as a portrait photographer. Landau brought the first Rolleiflex to France. Nora Dumas joined Landau's studio in 1929, and Ylla in 1932.[2]

Landau met Charles Rado in 1933. Rado founded the photo press agency Rapho with Landau, Ylla, Brassaï, and Nora Dumas, but was forced to close the agency during World War II. Landau had met Raymond Grosset [fr] on holiday in 1930, and introduced him to the other Hungarian photographers in Paris. After World War II Landau encouraged Grosset to restart Rapho.[3]

Landau died in Paris.

  1. ^ "Ergy Landau". Luminous Lint. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  2. ^ Danielle Leenaerts (2010). Petite Histoire Du Magazine Vu (1928-1940): Entre Photographie D'Information Et Photographie D'Art. Peter Lang. p. 329. ISBN 978-90-5201-585-9. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  3. ^ Peter Hamilton, 'Obituary: Raymond Grosset', The Independent, 13 April 2000. Reprinted online at HighBeam. Accessed 12 March 2013.