Untitled (girl in dress with ruffled sleeves leaning on table with chin in hand) after 1940

This is a silver gelatin print of a girl with ruffled sleeves leaning on a table, made by Paul Gittings. I really feel for Gittings when I look at this. What was it like to work with this girl? She's obviously been placed in this position. The light is evenly spread across the whole surface. The textures of the dress are just visible; it's a delicate image. It makes me think about other photographs. I see August Sander in the way the girl is presented. He always tried to represent the sitter as a type of person. The girl’s gaze is slightly confrontational, making me wonder what she really thinks about the photographic process. Her pose might come from paintings, too, where women are often depicted with their chin in their hands. It feels like everyone is in constant dialogue and exchange of ideas through time, inspiring each other’s creativity.