Taken at the moment of death, the image of the soldier falling back, his rifle about to fall from his splayed arm, became an instant icon, not only of the Spanish Civil War, but of modern photojournalism. It also gave rise to a long-running controversy over whether the photograph was staged or not.
The Hungarian photographer Robert Capa became one of the most respected war photographers and cofounded the prestigious Magnum photographers collective.
Now a Spanish newspaper, El Periodico, has published an editorial in which it claimed to have settled the decades-old debate over the authenticity of Capa's famous 1936 photograph.
"Capa photographed his soldier at a location where there was no fighting," the paper wrote. "The real location, some 10km from an inactive battle front, demonstrates that the death was not real."
The study conducted by the paper looked at the details of the battles - where they took place and on which days - and concluded that the photograph was, in fact, taken at Espejo, a town roughly 50km from Cerro Muriano in Andalusia, where the image was alleged to have been snapped. The study used recently taken images of a hill near Espejo to show that the backgrounds of those and Capa's image were the same.
"We travelled to Espejo and found the exact place," explained Ernest Alos, the author of El Periodico's piece. "It was not near the front of the Espejo but about 10km from there in the outskirts of the village. We matched all the reference points - roads, houses, hills - and found that any [battle] actions were even more inconsistent in that place than in the hill."
Additionally, the study indicates that no battles were waged in Espejo until the end of September, which conflicts with the Sept 5 date of the photograph. Because no injuries or deaths were reported at the location or on the date when the photo was taken, Alos said it was "unlikely" the man in the photo could have died at that time.
An exhibit held at the Barbican in London last year showed all photographs taken by Capa on Sept 5 1936. The collection of negatives, held by the International Center of Photography in New York City, included several other photographs of the falling soldier, Frederico Borrell Garcia, a 24-year-old textile worker, which indicated to the ICP that the photographer had indeed captured a real event.
Records show that Garcia died on the day the photograph was taken, though the issue of whether he died in battle has been hotly contested. "There have been various theories about whether the soldier was actually shot in battle," Cynthia Young, the curator of the exhibit, told The Telegraph last year. "Looking at the photos it is clear that it is not the heat of battle. It is likely the soldiers were carrying out an exercise either for Capa or themselves."
Julien Frydman, the Paris bureau chief of Magnum, said the debate over the authenticity of the photograph is important. But regardless of that debate, he said, the power of the image cannot be diminished.
"It's not the first time this photo is said to have been staged. That's a never-ending story," he said. "What's important, though, is the role of the photograph in a larger sense. Capa is the most incredible story teller. The debate doesn't undermine the capacity of Capa to use the power of photography."
Though others of Capa's photographs, such as his images of D-Day in 1944, were absolutely not staged, Frydman says, to challenge the authenticity of the falling soldier image is healthy and important. But what is also important is to ask not just whether it was or wasn't set up, but why a photographer as talented as Capa would make that decision."Magnum photographers want to make essays. They want to tell stories.
"It's no longer a question of objectivity then, but a question of what the photographer wants to say," Frydman explained. "Of course, staging a photograph today, something could not be presented like that. You would have to say it was staged."
Alos maintains that the study was not conducted to tarnish Capa's reputation in any way, and explains that while he was a talented photographer, to call him a photojournalist is to disregard the ethical standards to which those in the field strictly adhere.
"It's still a classic masterwork. But it must not be placed between the masterworks of photojournalism," he said. "Put it in another box. Photography, of course, but in the war propaganda context." Perhaps it was propaganda, Frydman admitted, but there is more to the photograph than that.
"The real perspective of a photojournalist is linked to their character, their emotion. So in that sense, who the photographer is, is important," he said. "Maybe Capa was the first to see photography not just linked to objectivity, but to subjectivity as well."
jhume@thenational.ae
The%20Boy%20and%20the%20Heron
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EHayao%20Miyazaki%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Soma%20Santoki%2C%20Masaki%20Suda%2C%20Ko%20Shibasaki%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
At a glance - Zayed Sustainability Prize 2020
Launched: 2008
Categories: Health, energy, water, food, global high schools
Prize: Dh2.2 million (Dh360,000 for global high schools category)
Winners’ announcement: Monday, January 13
Impact in numbers
335 million people positively impacted by projects
430,000 jobs created
10 million people given access to clean and affordable drinking water
50 million homes powered by renewable energy
6.5 billion litres of water saved
26 million school children given solar lighting
Score
Third Test, Day 2
New Zealand 274
Pakistan 139-3 (61 ov)
Pakistan trail by 135 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the innings
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Disability on screen
Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues
24: Legacy — PTSD;
Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound
Taken and This Is Us — cancer
Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)
Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg
Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety
Switched at Birth — deafness
One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy
Dragons — double amputee
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The Freedom Artist
By Ben Okri (Head of Zeus)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
