Self-Portrait, Paris 1934

Ilse Bing, somewhere in Paris, made this self-portrait using photography, sometime in the 1930s, and you get the feeling she was thinking deeply. There's this direct gaze, unsmiling, very serious. I wonder what thoughts were swirling in her mind as she framed the shot, playing with light and shadow to capture her own image. Her face is softly lit, highlighting the texture of her skin, while the background fades into a gentle blur. The composition is so simple, yet so powerful. Bing's self-portrait reminds me of other women artists like Claude Cahun and Lee Miller, who also used photography to explore identity, gender, and representation. There's a certain vulnerability, but also strength in her self-representation. It's a reminder that artists are constantly in dialogue with themselves and each other, trying to make sense of the world through their work. It's not just about capturing a likeness, but about exploring the depths of our own experience.