Portret van Vido 1924

This photographic portrait of Vido was made by an anonymous artist, using light and shadow to bring forward the humanity of the subject. I imagine the photographer asking Vido to sit still, and Vido looking right back, directly confronting the viewer with his gaze. It's so compelling, isn't it? You wonder what he's thinking. The black and white medium adds a gravity to the work. Look at the soft gradations of tone, from the bright highlights on his forehead to the dark shadows under his chin, it brings out the details of his young face. The photograph is somehow both intimate and distant, a dance between revealing and concealing. Maybe the artist was influenced by the documentary style of photography that emerged in the early 20th century, a movement that sought to capture slices of everyday life with sincerity. The way he has been captured feels very earnest.