John Marin 1921 - 1922

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph of John Marin sometime in the first half of the twentieth century. Stieglitz was a master of light and shadow, and he uses them here to create a portrait that's as much about feeling as it is about likeness. The textures are incredible. Look at the way the light catches Marin's tweed jacket, or the soft focus on his hair. It's like Stieglitz is painting with light, layering tones to build up this incredible sense of depth. Notice how the light glints on the cufflink, leading your eye to the hand supporting Marin's chin. The artist’s gaze avoids ours, which gives the image a contemplative and intimate feeling. You can see the influence of Pictorialism here, the movement that argued photography could be art. Like his contemporary Edward Steichen, Stieglitz used photographic techniques such as soft focus, and printing on textured papers, to achieve painterly effects in his photographs. It's a reminder that art is always a conversation, artists borrowing and building on each other's ideas across time and medium.