Having learned about multiple famous photographs that turned out to have been altered or faked puts me in a rather dubious state of mind when determining the legitimacy of Capa’s “Death of a Loyalist Soldier.” Alas, I am still on the fence unless concrete evidence comes to light. Whelan’s argument, though compelling, was not enough to convince me of the authenticity of the photograph. Of course, my judgement could be impaired since I’ve never seen a man shot first hand and know next to nothing about the crucible of war. Personally I don’t believe that the authenticity of the photograph matters, whether Capa arranged this photograph or not, the message was received by the public. I believe that the impact of a photograph matters more than the means of which it was taken. Capa sought to convey the horrors and hardships of war to viewers and he definitely succeeded in that regard. As Machiavelli said: “The ends justify the means.”
