Sacha en Maria op de veranda 1910 - 1914

This photograph, Sacha en Maria op de veranda, date unknown, by an anonymous artist, found its form through a chemical process. Look at the tonal range, the delicate grays that build up this scene on the porch. It makes me think about the act of developing a picture, like the anticipation you feel as the image slowly emerges, and the way that anticipation can become part of the art. There's a softness in the way the light falls here, but also a clarity in the way the boards of the porch are delineated. The eye travels across that expanse, but is pulled back towards the figures. In a funny way, the railing almost obscures them, but not quite! It's like the artist is playing with this tension between revelation and concealment, drawing us in to look closer. This pushing and pulling, this sense of play with light and shadow, puts me in mind of Man Ray's solarizations. But here, the effect is much more subtle, a quiet moment of looking and being looked at.