Rita de Acosta Lydig 1905

Gertrude Kasebier made this photograph, Rita de Acosta Lydig, with light and shadow in mind. I wonder what Kasebier and Lydig might have said to one another during this shoot. Kasebier seems intent on capturing Lydig's likeness, but at a distance. Her face is softly rendered in profile, and her elegant dress drapes across her shoulders. It's an interesting choice to have her back face the viewer because it turns the gaze and gives Lydig the agency. What was Kasebier thinking in this moment? How has she built the relationship with Lydig? Kasebier’s portrait has an air of modern sensibility, of allowing for an ambiguous, open-ended moment that is both beautiful and a little bit sad. Like a painting, this photograph exists as both a record and an expression, a document and a dream. Artists are in ongoing conversation across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. And in this photograph, the conversation continues.