Richard Menshausen 1936

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph of Richard Menshausen, sometime in his life, using a camera and photographic paper. I imagine Stieglitz, that photography pioneer, hanging out with Richard, maybe on a break from the city's hustle. I can see them, Richard with his pipe, leaning against that weathered wood—the vertical lines so present they feel almost like insistent brushstrokes in a painting. Think of the way Fairfield Porter, for instance, captured those casual, yet intimate, everyday moments. The light, so soft and diffused, almost seems to be caressing Richard's face, but also those planks behind him. Stieglitz knew how to make a scene feel both specific and universal, which is no small feat. He invites a sense of quiet contemplation. The wood itself adds texture and depth, as if the backdrop is also the foreground, and the foreground, the background. Richard's pipe is the focal point. It's a reminder that art, in any medium, is always about seeing and feeling.