El Lissitzky, Dessau 1932

Josef Albers made this photographic portrait of El Lissitzky at the Bauhaus in Dessau, and it's a real study in contrasts. There's something quite stark about the monochrome palette, and how the two images are arranged on a single sheet. On the left we have a close-up, a direct gaze, almost confrontational. Then, on the right, a softer, more contemplative profile. It's as if Albers is showing us two sides of the same person, or perhaps two ways of seeing. I'm really drawn to the textures here, the grainy quality of the photograph itself, which adds a kind of rawness. But it's the lines around Lissitzky's eyes, and the details that really hold me. Those subtle marks tell a story, not just of his appearance, but maybe about his life. It reminds me of how artists like Moholy-Nagy were also experimenting with photography at this time, pushing the boundaries of what it could do. Ultimately, this image stays with you because it refuses to settle on one definitive reading.