This largely previously unpublished series from one of Spain's greatest
masters of photography, José Ortiz Echagüe (1886-1980), focuses on North
African street scenes--a fascinating complement to the better-known
images of Spanish people, landscapes and architecture that he created
over the course of his life. His distinctive carbon printing technique
captured the textures of North African life with all the subtlety of a
graphite pencil drawing. As with his Spanish works, his eye for costumes
captured many long-defunct clothing styles. That this was the last
photography project Echagüe undertook at the end of a long career
indicates the importance that these previously overlooked but compelling
images held for him. Echagüe's photographic career could be said to have
come full circle with this project, as some of his early seminal works
came from his stint as a young military engineer in Morocco.