How does this image make me feel?

Upon first inspection, and without any context at all, I would certainly say that this image evokes the feeling that the subject is perhaps an evil or powerful figure, all thanks to the combination of lighting placement and intensity, the industrial colour palette and the body language that he is demonstrating.

How was this image taken technically?

This image appears to be a film image taken with a fairly wide-view lens, which is indicated by the narrowing perspective and upfront placement of the man in the image. Arnold Newman used 35mm film and usually was equipped with a tripod. I can imagine that the exposure would have been rather difficult to control with the light source behind the subject possibly threatening to overpower the image. However we can see that the photographer has decided to use two light sources either side of the man to create an interesting pattern of shadows which certainly contribute to the overall feeling of dread evoked by the photograph.

What can I see in the image?

The photo appears to be taken in an industrial trainyard of some sort with maintenance equipment and tools stacking up behind the subject, who takes centre-stage in the foreground. We can see multiple train carriages on the platform in the background, and running down the top-centre of the picture is a series of glass panes letting in small amounts of natural light. Framing the subject, whose hands are clasped in a menacing fashion beneath his chin, are two pillars caked in a thick, smog-induced dust which further suggests the industrial purpose of the setting. Finally, taking together both the subject’s powerful body language, with his hands creating a pyramid-like shape under his chin (pyramids/triangular shapes are very strong in their structure) and the effect of his face being very minimally lit and largely in shadow so that we cannot see his features in the traditional way all contribute to the overall evil atmosphere within the composition.

Why was the photo taken like this?

It is obvious that the photographer’s intentions were to present the subject in this cruel and plotting portrayal and the use of all of the above techniques definitely demonstrate this intention.

What is the story behind this image?

Shown in the image is the German industrialist figure and convicted (and later pardoned) war criminal, Alfried Krupp, whose family business was responsible for using almost 100,000 slave labourers from the concentration camp system to manufacture arms for the Nazis under terrible working conditions, which caused many deaths of exhaustion, hunger or other results of neglect and malnourishment. Interestingly, Krupp was personally intrigued by the work of Arnold Newman, a Jew, despite his obvious views on the Jewish people. The New York based magazine Newsweek commissioned Newman to take Krupp’s portrait. After originally refusing on a moral basis, he agreed to do so, with the view of creating an image that would represent and depict, in the simplest essence, the evil that Newman knew Krupp was responsible for in his war crimes.

“It turned out to be one of my best photographs, It was my impression of a Nazi who managed to survive yet killed millions of people”

-Arnold Newman