A New Short History of Photography: Geraldo de Barros and the Homage to Paul Klee

In Homage to Paul Klee, 1949, Geraldo de Barros goes beyond the idea of a tribute to invent a technical combination in photography that includes aspects of printmaking and painting as well as a liberated imagination. This image, part of the Fotoformas series from 1949, marks a milestone in the history of photography, as it introduces a novel procedure invented by de Barros. In summary, this essay examines the transition from “homage,” understood as recognition, to an artistic procedure in de Barros’s work through this technique.