Heavy Burden, Esztergom

Series Title: Hungarian Memory

1916, printed 1980

Hyperion Press

Culture

America

Medium

gelatin silver print

Measurements

Image: 18.7 x 24.8 cm (7 3/8 x 9 3/4 in.); Paper: 20.2 x 25.3 cm (7 15/16 x 9 15/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Alan and Monah L. Gettner 2022.72

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

André Kertész’s photographs of Hungary, shot between 1912 and 1925, serve as a visual memoir of the artist’s early adult years.

Description

When Kertész was wounded in World War I, he was sent to Esztergom to recover. The town, which was the capital and royal residence of Hungarian kings until the mid-13th century, had fine examples of medieval and baroque architecture. Kertész chose to photograph this ramshackle, rustic corner instead. The difficulty of life there is mirrored in the struggles of the young girl carrying two buckets of water up a steep, unpaved path.