Untitled (portrait of little girl leaning forward on table) c. 1940

This photograph, of a little girl leaning forward on a table, was made by Paul Gittings. Its reversed tonality immediately grabs our attention. The stark contrast between light and dark destabilizes conventional portraiture. The girl's figure, rendered in luminous tones against a somber background, seems to emerge from the depths of the photographic negative. The composition is dominated by the subject's face. Her gaze is directed towards the viewer. The surface of the photograph bears a network of cracks, which adds a layer of abstraction. These lines fracture the image, disrupting its clarity and introducing an element of decay. The cracks might represent the passage of time or the fragility of memory. Gittings transforms a simple portrait into an exploration of perception, representation, and the interplay between presence and absence. The photograph invites us to consider how meaning is constructed through visual signs and how these signs can be manipulated to challenge our understanding of reality.