Carte photographique de la lune, planche I.A (Photographic Chart of the Moon, plate I.A) Possibly 1908 - 1914

Charles Le Morvan made this photographic chart of the moon sometime around the turn of the century. It's a photograph, so it's not like he's mixing pigments, but the darkroom process still involves a certain alchemy; controlling light and chemicals to coax an image into being. The tonal range here is gorgeous, from the inky black of the void to the stark white of the sunlit craters. Look at the way the light catches the rims of those craters, throwing shadows that give them depth and volume. It's like a miniature world, a landscape of bumps and hollows rendered in shades of gray. My eye is drawn to the large crater near the edge of the moon, a perfect circle with a little peak in the middle. It's a microcosm of the whole image, a reminder that even in the vastness of space, there's always detail to be found. Le Morvan's moon reminds me of Vija Celmins's drawings of celestial bodies; both artists share a fascination with the texture and form of faraway worlds. Ultimately, this image invites us to contemplate the mysteries of the universe, and our place within it.