The Years Lie in Wait for You 1936

Dora Maar spun this silver gelatin print into being to make us wonder about the nature of portraiture. It's like, what does it mean to capture someone's essence? Is it about showing their face, or is it about revealing something deeper, something hidden? Maar, who was also a painter, was interested in the surrealist movement, where dream and reality combine. The web here acts like a veil, obscuring and revealing at the same time. I can only imagine her setting up this shot. It could speak to entrapment, anxiety, and the feeling of being ensnared by time. It could also be a statement of empowerment, of a woman owning her image and the lens through which she's viewed. What I love about this, is that she leaves it to us to decide. So go on, what do you think?