The short version
- A new biopic premiering at the Venice Film Festival aims to restore Gerda Taro’s reputation as a pioneering war photographer independent of her partner Robert Capa.
- Historical research using camera format analysis suggests Taro, rather than Capa, took the iconic 'Falling Soldier' photograph credited to the shared alias.
- Scholars also question whether the famous image was staged, noting the absence of active combat in the specific location at the time it was captured.
A new biographical film premiering at the Venice Film Festival is bringing renewed attention to Gerda Taro, one of the twentieth century’s most courageous photojournalists. The movie, titled 'The Girl With the Leica,' seeks to separate her legacy from that of Robert Capa, the lover and collaborator with whom she shared a professional alias. For decades, Taro’s work has been largely subsumed under Capa’s name, despite her significant contributions to documenting the Spanish Civil War. The film arrives at a moment when historians are also challenging long-held assumptions about authorship of some of the most famous images from that conflict.
Taro and Endré Friedmann, who later became known as Robert Capa, were both Jewish refugees fleeing the rise of Nazism in Europe. Born in Stuttgart and Budapest respectively, they met in Paris and immersed themselves in a circle of artists and writers that included Henri Cartier-Bresson and Ernest Hemingway. Recognizing the gender biases of the publishing industry, Taro devised the name 'Robert Capa' to project an image of a seasoned American war correspondent. This branding strategy helped them secure higher fees and greater respect from editors at major publications like Life magazine.
Between 1936 and 1937, the pair covered the Spanish Civil War together. Their photographs were published under the Capa alias, blurring the lines between their individual outputs. Taro was among the first women to photograph battlefronts, capturing both the initial optimism of the Republican forces and the devastating impact of the war on civilians. Her series featuring female militias, including an iconic profile shot of a woman in high heels steadying a pistol, reflects the influence of Soviet avant-garde aesthetics. The new film highlights these early phases of her career, emphasizing her distinct visual style.
Controversy surrounding Taro’s work has intensified with fresh research into 'The Death of a Militiaman,' widely considered Capa’s most famous photograph. Published by Life magazine in 1937, the image shows a Republican fighter falling after being shot near Córdoba. For years, it was attributed to Friedmann. However, Fernando Penco Valenzuela, a Spanish historian and archivist, argues that technical evidence points to Taro as the true photographer. He notes that the photograph is square in format, consistent with the Reflex-Korelle camera Taro used, whereas Friedmann typically shot with a rectangular 35mm Leica.
Penco’s analysis extends beyond camera formats. He has pinpointed the location of the photograph to the village of Espejo in the Cerro Muriano mountain range on September 5, 1936. A photo taken of Taro upon her arrival in Espejo shows her wearing the Reflex-Korelle around her neck. Penco argues that since all square-format photos from that specific location and time are attributable to Taro, it is logical to conclude she took the militiaman picture as well. His confidence in this attribution is absolute, suggesting that historical records have long overlooked her role due to the couple’s shared professional identity.
The research also raises questions about the authenticity of the scene itself. Penco suggests the photograph may have been staged, noting that there was no active fighting in the area at the time the image was captured. This possibility adds another layer of complexity to the image’s legacy, which has long been celebrated as a spontaneous moment of war. While staging was not uncommon among photographers of the era, the revelation challenges the narrative of pure documentary realism often associated with Capa’s work. The director of the new film, Alina Marazzi, acknowledges the plausibility of Taro’s involvement, noting that the couple frequently photographed in the same locations.
The attribution debate is further complicated by the practices of the time. Photographers often filed work under group names or cooperative aliases, making individual credit difficult to establish. The romantic and professional partnership between Taro and Friedmann likely exacerbated this confusion. A 2025 retrospective curated by Magnum Photos, the agency co-founded by Capa, included captions acknowledging that some prints of 'The Falling Soldier' suggested a 6x6 camera origin, aligning with Taro’s equipment. This institutional recognition signals a shift in how the photography community views the distribution of credit between the two artists.
Gerda Taro died in 1937 while covering the war, making her the first known female photojournalist killed in the line of duty. Her early death contributed to the erasure of her individual achievements from public memory. The new film and accompanying historical research aim to correct this oversight by presenting Taro not merely as Capa’s partner but as a formidable artist in her own right. As audiences engage with 'The Girl With the Leica,' they are invited to reconsider the narratives that have defined war photography for nearly a century.
The implications of these findings extend beyond academic interest. They challenge the canon of photojournalism, which has long celebrated male perspectives and singular authorship. By highlighting Taro’s technical skill and editorial vision, researchers and filmmakers are reshaping the historical record. The Venice premiere serves as a cultural touchstone for this reevaluation, offering a platform to discuss gender, attribution, and the construction of historical truth in visual media.
Future exhibitions and publications may need to revise captions and credits to reflect these new insights. While the emotional power of 'The Falling Soldier' remains undiminished, its provenance is now subject to rigorous scrutiny. This ongoing dialogue between art history and technical analysis underscores the importance of continuous reexamination in journalism. As more details emerge about Taro’s specific contributions, her legacy as a pioneer of war photography becomes increasingly clear.
Sources behind this briefing
Go to the original reporting
- The Guardian US↗‘A fierce need to be independent’: Gerda Taro biopic pulls photographer out of lover Robert Capa’s shadow
