2025-09-04
Robert Capa and Gerda Taro – although these names sound like they could belong to a Hollywood couple, they should be associated with an innovative approach to war photojournalism.
In 1936, Capa and Taro found themselves on the battlefield, between Spanish Republicans and Francoists. It was in these circumstances that they captured their most famous shots, including ‘The Falling Soldier’ and a Republican militiawoman during training. Their distinctive style was based on taking the perspective of a participant, rather than an observer of the conflict.
How did they manage to already work as professionals at that point, when Taro had only begun taking photos a year earlier? After all, in Paris, where their paths crossed, artistic competition was fierce.
Capa, or rather Endre Ernő Friedmann, a Hungarian Jew, had previously sought success as a photographer in several European capitals. When things started to work out for him in Berlin, it quickly became apparent that he had to flee abroad to escape Nazi persecution.
The story of Taro, or rather Gerda Pohorylle, also a Jew from a Galician family, was similar. She became politically involved in leftist circles in the face of the growing popularity of the Nazis in Germany, where she grew up and was educated. Immediately after her release from custody following her arrest by the Gestapo for anti-Hitler activities, she also decided to leave.
In the French capital, they were entitled to asylum, even if they were not employed. They met after Pohorylle became interested in Friedmann's photographs. They quickly established a mentor-partner relationshig. The thing was: they could barely afford film.
In 1936, they decided to resort to a scam. They managed to promote the work of an American photographer, Robert Capa, to the director of the Alliance Photo agency. Of course, it was Friedmann who had actually taken the photographs. The works were sold, and the two began publishing under the pseudonym ‘Capa’ and soon also under the joint name ‘Reportage Capa & Taro’.