Model Study 11 2008

Elina Brotherus made this photograph of a fair-haired woman and a scattering of apples, in a very clean, spare interior. I’m wondering, was the artist thinking about Cezanne when she made this? It has that same stillness, that interest in geometry, and the kind of slow looking that we see in still life paintings. The woman has a profile like one of those dreamy Renaissance paintings. She's gazing away from us, to the side, as if lost in thought. What is she thinking about? The apples are arranged like a musical score, and the table is a kind of platform, holding them for display. The photo is quiet and contemplative, it leaves space for our own thoughts. It makes me want to slow down and notice things. Brotherus is asking us to think about the relationship between painting and photography, about looking and being, about time, and what it means to be present in the world.