Fake "Masterpieces"

I love reading about hoaxes and fakes, so this story from a few years ago about the long controversy over the "masterpiece" photograph,  "The Falling Soldier," makes me laugh.

There are lots of other articles about it, and even books which cast doubt on the authenticity of the photo.

With all of the known evidence today, how anybody can still believe the photo genuinely depicts a soldier as he was being killed is beyond me.  It was faked, or, more accurately, staged.  It is still a fraud, and photographer Robert Capa did nothing to counter the charges of fakery that were made from the beginning when the photo was first published.  One theory has it the "soldier" in the picture slipped and fell, and the photographer, whether it was Robert Capa or his girlfriend Gerda Taro, just happened to snap it at the right time.  It is more plausible than excuses made that it is genuine.

With digital photography, it is much easier to fake a photo.  Back then, with film, it was much, much harder to fake photos unless those photos were staged.  Other photos on the roll, with other "soldiers" depicted on the very same ground as the subject of "The Falling Soldier," support the contention it was staged.  Photographers were known to do this, especially if they were not allowed on the front lines of battle.

Different "soldier," same spot

Nobody knows who the model was, as the alleged identity of this man has been thoroughly debunked over the decades.  That person was killed in the real battle which occurred some 30 miles away, in a wooded area.

Many have tried to argue  it really doesn't matter whether the photo was real or staged; what counts instead is the "symbolism" of what this photo supposedly represents.    However, that falls flat, as George Will noted.  Its reputation rests solely on the notion the picture depicts an actual soldier dying an actual death at the very point of impact.  It was said to be a completely accidental photo shot at an opportune time.  If it was staged, then the "masterpiece" label comes off it, and it is simply a staged photo of a guy faking a fall or accidently slipping and falling.

In any case, Capa went on with some genuinely great photography during World War II, especially on D-Day, and those photos weren't staged or faked.  He sadly died in 1954, age only 40,  when he stepped on a landmine in southeast Asia on assignment to document the Vietnam conflict.  He should be remembered for his real photos and not for an obvious fake.

On the other hand, his D-Day photos are also subjects of controversy, so even here he isn't immune.