Art & culture
André Breton’s photobooth self-portrait
The catalogue preserves an object’s dimensions and its place in a group.
An individual portrait can belong to a collective history. Centre Pompidou’s record of André Breton’s photobooth self-portrait connects a narrow photographic object with a larger Surrealist ensemble, while preserving its own identity.
The catalogue details
The museum dates the gelatin-silver self-portrait to around 1929 and lists dimensions of 25.9 by 3.8 centimetres. It identifies the work within Le groupe surréaliste and gives accession number AM 2003-287 (4). The acquisition date, 2003, is distinct from the date the photograph was made.
Evidence: Collection record
An object, not just a face
A cropped reproduction may hide the length and sequence that distinguish the physical strip. When reading the record, compare the dimensions, the ensemble description and the individual title. They answer different questions: what the object is, what it belongs to and how the museum names it.
Keep provenance with your pictures
For your own archive, record where a strip came from before separating it from an envelope or album. A simple note can preserve a connection that the image alone cannot recover. If a date is uncertain, write the uncertainty down rather than turning a guess into an exact caption.
Sources & further reading
Sources for the specific facts and product descriptions above. Our worked examples, interpretations and practical suggestions are original editorial guidance.
- Centre Pompidou — André Breton, PhotomatonCollection record