Staged Photos of The Spanish Civil War
Many believed this photo was a spur of the moment decision, mid or just post-battle, due to the gun and the sense of pride on Ginesta's face. Just because the photograph was staged doesn't mean the sense of pride, confidence, and wonder are gone. This exhibit will examine some of the famous photos of the Spanish Civil War and the arguments for their being staged or genuine, and the importance of that.
To begin, we must introduce the famous photographers whose works this exhibit will be examining. Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and David Seymour were three photographer companions who traveled through Spain during the war, documenting it through photos. They took some of the most iconic photos of the war and were published throughout Europe and America. Capa and Taro were reportedly engaged before her death in 1937 in a tank accident, making her the first female photojournalist to die in battle, (2) and the three were often in the company of Ernest Hemingway. (3) Above are some examples of their work to be compared with the images below that are believed to be staged. One can see in the images of the photographers themselves that they were prone to staging photos. It is doubtful that Capa is truly taking a photo or video and is instead holding a camera so someone can snap one of him. Taro is lounging on a gravestone in Spain of a person she never knew, and who was likely buried long before the war began. It makes for a dramatic and gorgeous photo, but holds no real emotion for her as the subject of the photo. Seymour simply has several cameras around his neck, which would make for a difficult time if he was actually trying to take a photo himself. While photos being staged in some cases just causes a unique image that tells a story, when it comes to war, people often take what they see at face value and use it to establish who is what is worth fighting for and who the enemy is.
The image of the woman aiming a gun on a beach was taken by either Robert Capa or Gerda Taro. This image was discovered in the Mexican Suitcase, which contained more than 4,000 negatives taken by Capa, Taro, Seymour. The suitcase disappeared at the beginning of World War II and was discovered in 2007. The photo of this woman is clearly staged, as her pose is unnatural and not fit for firing a gun, a woman likely wouldn't wear heels to train for battle, and would never wear heels to the beach. (4) However, it is still an image that makes one think of strong and powerful women, who rise up and help the men fight for a noble cause, while maintaining their femininity.
The three images of the Falling Soldier series have recently been brought under suspicion to be staged. Taken by Capa and published in Life magazine, the first image is rather famous, and its likeness has been used in protest and public art installations around the world. The two images following are from the same series and taken on the same hill, but show different men and angles that point to the original also having been staged. For one, the different men in the exact same spot is very noticeable, but the third image of the man laying down and presumable pretending to be dead in taken from an angle that suggests the photographer was behind him. In active battle, a photographer would not stand in the line of fire just to take a shot of a dead man. (5)
The final example is the image of communist soldiers aiming at the Sacred Heart of Getafe. The giant statue of Jesus Christ, built in 1919 near a 14th century monastery, is being pointed at by young soldiers of the Republican army. The statue was destroyed during the war, but not entirely demolished as it was later relocated and used as a decoration of a massive underground church that is well traveled by Catholics even today. The reason this image is believed to be staged is because although the monument had bullet marks dating from the war, they were not from guns fired at the angle of the guns in this picture, which likely couldn't have reached the statue any way. The actual figure of Jesus Christ had no bullet marks, and in the photo the soldiers are aiming directly at Him. The bullet markings were all lower on the monument and it can be inferred that they were made after the monument was being demolished, which was after the nearby monastery was ransacked. Accompanying the famous image of this event is a wide shot that was also publicized when denouncing the savage communists, which is a wide shot of the event. There are more people in this image, and a more casual feel to the atmosphere as the girl in the foreground behind the shooters has her hands on her waist in a care-free manner. It looks less like the men to the right of the photo are ordering anyone to shoot and more that they are trying to get a better look at the monument. (6)
