Man RayAmerican, 1890–1976Return to Reason (Retour a la Raison)
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Return to Reason (Retour a la Raison)” now? Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Chicago, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
In the 1923 silent short of the same title, Man Ray filmed barely discernible scenes of Paris at night along with his own enigmatic photograms and conglomerations of spiraling or gyrating objects. The resulting sequence of near-total abstractions seems devoid of sense or purpose. The "return to reason" in the film comes finally in the form of a woman's torso—modeled by cabaret personality Kiki de Montparnasse—turning to and fro beside a rain-covered windowpane. Man Ray reproduced the seductive finale, as well as other moments from the film, as photographs, singly and in strips. A still from Man Ray's film, this particular photograph appeared on its own in the first issue of the key avant-garde journal La Révolution surréaliste, in 1924.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Details
- Accession number
- 1979.96
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — © the artist or rights holder
In the life of Man Ray
The whole life1920s
A photography studio: portraits of Paris bohemia
Convinced that he cannot make a living from his art alone, Ray buys a camera and opens a studio; he creates a series of famous photographic portraits of Erik Satie, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein and Jean Cocteau.
1921
His first Paris exhibition at the Galerie Six
Ray's first solo exhibition in Paris is held at the Galerie Six, organised by Philippe Soupault; for it he creates his first Dadaist work in France, The Gift (Le Cadeau).
c. 1921
Rayographs: photograms without a camera
His accidental rediscovery of the cameraless photogram, which he calls 'rayographs', produces images hailed by Tristan Tzara as 'pure Dada creations'.
c. 1921
Meeting Kiki de Montparnasse
Shortly after arriving in Paris Ray meets and falls in love with Alice Prin, known as Kiki de Montparnasse, an artists' model and celebrated figure of Paris bohemian circles. She remains his companion for most of the 1920s, the subject of some of his most famous photographs, and stars in his films Le Retour à la raison and L'Étoile de mer.
July 1921
Moving to Paris, Montparnasse
In July 1921 Ray goes to live and work in Paris, settling in the Montparnasse quarter favoured by many artists.
1925
The first Surrealist exhibition at the Galerie Pierre
Ray is represented in the first Surrealist exhibition at the Galerie Pierre in Paris, alongside Jean Arp, Giorgio de Chirico, Max Ernst, Georges Malkine, André Masson, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso.
