Herbert List (1903-1975) was a German photographer who worked in a variety of genres including travel photography, war reportage, fashion photography, portraiture and Surrealism. 

List came from a wealthy family and was able to dedicate himself to photography. In 1936, he left Germany for Paris because of both creative reasons and the increasingly hostile political situation.

In the late 1930's List spent a significant amount of time in Greece. The images from this period are some of the most iconic photographs from his oeuvre. Many of the images are paradigms of how Surrealism intersected with art photography. List in particular experimented with mirrors, often outdoors, masks and other tropes associated with the avant-garde of the era. 

The location of this work is  Mount Lycabettus which is a massive hill in Athens. According to mythology the area is associated with Athena, who dropped a limestone mass intended for the building of the Acropolis when the box containing Erichthonius was opened.  

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Estate stamp verso

Gelatin silver print