Critiquing Images

Critiquing Images – Matt Smith

Robert Cappa – The Falling Soldier

The above image titled ‘The Falling Soldier’ is an iconic image shot by Robert Cappa in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. The image was allegedly captured during the exact moment the solder was shot in the head and killed. Cappa was documenting the ‘Republican struggle against General Franco’s fascist insurgents’. To this day Cappa is considered a pioneer of photojournalism and this image has played part in that.

The solider doesn’t strike me as a typical solder, he looks to be wearing everyday clothes and the only clue to his military allegiance is the leather belt and rifle. There is little else in the photo to show it’s during a war. I’m unsure if this makes the image more or less shocking. Compared to Cappa’s other coverage of the war this image is the most powerful.

“It’s phenomenally rare for a single photo to evoke both a discrete moment, and an epoch. But that is exactly what Robert Capa’s now-iconic “Falling Soldier” manages to do” (LIFE.com)

The photo is very powerful and somewhat disturbing. The controversy it created did not stop it being regarded as the most iconic photo of the Spanish Civil War and one of the most famous war photographs of all time. It creates a range of emotion for personally, I sympathise with the solider and those involved. Everyone in war is fighting for some cause and they are willing to pay the ultimate price for that cause and unfortunately we are shown the exact moment this republican pays that price.  It is clear to see why the photograph was considered so iconic. It helped bring the struggle of the republicans to the wider world and it is rare to see such a well-timed photograph of death, which sums up the harsh reality of war.

“After Capa’s photo appeared in LIFE, Franco went on to rule Spain for four decades — a dictator who overthrew a legitimate, elected government and not only survived, but thrived in the face of international complacency. Capa covered four more wars after Spain and died, killed by a landmine, camera in hand, in Southeast Asia in 1954. Today, “Falling Soldier” is regarded as one of the 20th century’s indispensable photographs.” (LIFE.com)

Cappa was known as a war photographer and photojournalist and so the photo is something you would expect him to come into contact with on a daily basis but the timing of the photograph is what makes it so special, at the exact moment I imagine there’s silence and after the soldier has fallen the chaos began. I can’t imagine the effect photographing such an event would have on a photographer. I would think that Cappa would be very passionate about getting his work out there after this, I would want the world to see the devastating events taking place in a hope that it was resolved quicker. However being a hardened war photographer Cappa may have been expecting such an image at some point and was indeed just waiting for the moment to present itself.

The photograph forms part of a much larger body of work all in very similar style. There are several shots before and after this image, often accompanying this image is a shot of another soldier laid on the floor also killed. All shot on black and white film, Cappa covered 5 different wars but this was one of his most iconic images for which he received international recognition.

A lot of people have theories about if or how it was staged. I personally think as a photograph it’s powerful and staged or not it brought the issue of the war to the wider world, as a photojournalistic piece it does a fantastic job but as a documentary piece it goes against everything Cappa should have stood for.

“The most decisive element in [Franks'] reading [of the image] is the soldierís left hand, seen below his horizontal left thigh," Whelan writes. "Capt. Franks told me in conversation that the fact that the fingers are somewhat curled toward the palm clearly indicates that the manís muscles have gone limp and that he is already dead. Hardly anyone faking death would ever know that such a hand position was necessary in order to make the photograph realistic” (Richard Whelan – www.creativereview.co.uk)

There will never be a definitive answer about its authenticity but I don’t think this takes away the message of the photograph. It was and still is iconic, it influenced the outcome and media covered of the war, which is the ultimate goal of a photojournalist.

Robert Capa’s ‘Falling Soldier’: The Modest Birth of an Iconic Picture | LIFE.com - http://life.time.com/history/robert-capas-falling-soldier-the-modest-birth-of-an-iconic-picture/#ixzz2pjQu2ZIX

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2008/october/robert-capa-and-the-falling-soldier