Paul Doumer Et Ses Cinq Fils 1905

Felix Nadar made this photograph, Paul Doumer Et Ses Cinq Fils, showing a group portrait using a monochrome palette and a balance of light and shadow. Photography is an interesting one, right? Like, how do you capture something that’s already there? Here, Nadar isn’t laying down strokes of paint, but he is manipulating light and time, kind of like a painter mixes colors on a palette. Look at the way their dark suits almost blend into the background, and how the light catches their faces, pulling them forward. It’s a study in contrasts, like a black and white painting where the textures of the clothes and the expressions on their faces become everything. I like the way the son on the far left is looking to his right, away from us, as if to imply a wider narrative beyond the frame. This reminds me a little of the way that Gerhard Richter worked with photographs as source material, blurring the lines between realism and abstraction. It's like Nadar is saying: "Here's a moment," but also, "Here's a feeling," all at once.