Spanish Press Attempts to Debunk Famed 'Falling Soldier' Photo

By: Daryl Lang The International Center of Photography recently brought its traveling Robert Capa exhibition to Spain, and the Spanish press is using the occasion to rip one of Capa's most famous photographs to shreds.

For over 30 years, historians have been debating the authenticity of Capa's "The Falling Soldier," which was photographed during the Spanish Civil War. The photo cemented the 22-year-old Capa's place in history and became a symbol of Spanish resistance. It appears to show a soldier at the moment of death.

After so many years, it's tough to prove the photo doesn't show a soldier dying. (Capa, who died in 1954, maintained it did.) But the latest evidence shows, at minimum, the photograph's location was misidentified. Here's a summary of the recent coverage.

Debate about the photo heated up last month when Spanish researcher Jos? Manuel Susperregui identified the likely location of Capa photograph. It had long been labeled as Cerro Muriano, but Susperregui said it was in a nearby area where there was no fighting going on. On June 14, British newspaper The Guardian wrote:

"Susperregui's research, published in his book Sombras de la Fotograf?a, provides compelling evidence that 'The Falling Soldier' was photographed in Llano de Banda, an area of countryside close to the small village of Espejo, southern Spain, some 25 miles from Cerro Muriano."

Historians say there wasn't any fighting going on in Espejo on Sept. 5, 1936, when the photograph was taken.

On July 4, in advance of the opening of the Capa exhibition at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, the Madrid newspaper La Raz?n published a story noting a series of inconsistencies in "The Falling Soldier." The story questions the incredible coincidence of Capa taking photographs of not just one, but two dying solders in what appears to be exactly the same place. It also outlines the confusing efforts over time to identify the falling soldier. "The study of some elements of the picture supports the theory that it was staged," the paper reported.

On July 17, Barcelona's el Peri?dico published a story that reached he same conclusion as Susperregui, the researcher: The Capa photo was shot on a hillside near Espejo, where no combat was under way at the time. The newspaper's layout included some very persuasive diagrams that match the hillsides in Capa's photographs with modern-day pictures shot near Espejo.

The Peri?dico story went a step further, declaring that Capa's photograph is fake and attempting to analyze his motivations:

"It is tempting to think that the next 18 years, in which Capa showed almost suicidal bravery in China, Tunisia, Sicily, Naples, Anzio, Normandy, the Ardennes, Leipzig, Israel, and Indochina, where he was killed by a mine in 1954, were dedicated to redeeming an original sin."

There remains a theory, as outlined in the Guardian story, that the soldier was posing for a photograph when he was picked off by a sniper who was still present on an inactive front. ICP, which was founded by Robert Capa's brother, Cornell Capa, provides this assessment of "The Falling Soldier":

"As far as ICP is concerned, The Falling Soldier photograph by Robert Capa is authentic. Richard Whelan has done extensive research on the photograph and concludes in his most recent book, This Is War! Robert Capa at Work (ICP/Steidl, 2007), that the photograph was intended to be a heroic portrait, but the soldier was mortally shot in front of Capa's camera."

Officially, ICP labels the photograph: "Death of a Loyalist Militiaman, Cerro Muriano, C?rdoba front, Spain, September 5, 1936."

-- Nielsen Business Media