Marcello in Forest 2015

Elina Brotherus made "Marcello in Forest", a photograph, sometime during her career. The grayscale is immediately striking, but the tiny dog gives it something more, a sense of movement. It makes me consider how the choice of palette informs the way we experience movement in an artwork; does the lack of vibrant colors affect the energy of the depicted subject? Look at the texture of the leaf-strewn forest floor. The use of light and shadow creates this almost tactile impression, like you could reach out and feel the crunch beneath your fingers. But the dog—that tiny brown speck—is what really grabs me, appearing almost as an afterthought and adding a whimsical element to what would otherwise be a solemn landscape. Brotherus's work often deals with the human figure in relation to landscape, and this photograph feels like a natural extension of that theme. It reminds me a bit of some of the early landscape photography, particularly the way they use light and shadow to create depth and texture. Ultimately, it's this interplay between the grand, almost indifferent forest and the humble dog that makes the photograph so compelling. It is beautiful, yet also a bit unsettling, and I wouldn't have it any other way.