Alfred Krupp

Posted on by S.Za.

“By exaggerating or minimizing his subjects’ surroundings, [Arnold Newman] crafted impressionistic gems… that suggested his sitters’ personalities,” wrote TIME magazine. He did, and the above photo, not notable in itself, is a product of such a mind.

Armanents manufacturer Alfred Krupp who alledgedly used slave labour to make weapons for the Nazis, contacted the famous Newman for a portrait in 1963. Upon finding out that Newman was a Jew, Krupp refused to let him make the photograph. Newman insisted to have Krupp look at his portfolio before making a final decision and after seeing Newman’s portfolio Krupp accepted. So on July 6, 1963, the industrialist and the auteur went into a delict factory in Essen which belonged to Krupp, where Newman decided to make Krupp look as evil as possible under the eerie demonic lighting of the factory.

When Krupp first saw the portrait he was livid. Newman was more tongue-in-cheek:  “As a Jew, it’s my own little moment of revenge.”

20 thoughts on “Alfred Krupp”

  2. I think you’re rather too line to Krupp. He most certainly did use slave labor & and in fact could see them walk to there daily slavery each morning from his office.

    This is indeed an iconic photo, especially in light of the fact that the next generation of Germans were just beginning prosecutions of dozens of Nazis who worked in these types of camps as overseers, a fact of which the photog was almost certainly aware.

    Thanks for this great and thought-provoking post.

  3. Description states the backdrop is
    ”a derelict factory in Essen”
    the factory viewed is certainly not derelict as with new railway locomotives being built.

    But still obviously a great composure.

  9. Thank you for the evil looking photograph. Can’t believe the guy only served a 3-year prison term for all his cruelty. What a shame Krupp reproduced.

  13. A fascinating discussion is worth comment.
    I think that you need to write more about this subject, it might not be a
    taboo matter but generally people don’t talk about these topics.
    To the next! Kind regards!!

  14. It seems this portrait has been color-“corrected.” In the original version, Krupp had a ghastly green tone, which Newman accomplished by intentionally failing to use a filter to correct for the temperature of the lighting he used. The green tone has been removed in this image, presumably by someone who thought a more realistic skin tone looked better.
    The green-skinned Krupp looked even more ghoulish and evil…. As Newman had intended.

  18. I took a portrait class from Arnold and he told us he didn’t want to photograph Krupp at first when asked but was assured by the people at Time magazine he could do it any way he wanted. So he did him as a monster.

  19. […] Graham Nash is a photographer as well as a great musician and songwriter. Soon after writing “Teach Your Children,” Nash visited an art gallery and saw two photographs hung side by side. The photographs delineated the meaning of the song for Nash. One photo, by Diane Arbus, is titled “Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park.” The other is Arnold Newman’s portrait of German industrialist Alfried Krupp. […]

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