Eleanor and Barbara (nudes), Chicago Possibly 1953 - 1979

Harry Callahan made this photograph of Eleanor and Barbara in Chicago, capturing a slice of life with a camera, not a brush. The light is everything here, a soft glow that makes the skin look almost like it's painted with milk. It's all about surfaces and textures: the smooth skin, the rough wall, and that bright, gauzy light coming in through the window. You can almost feel the warmth of the sun on your skin. The way Callahan plays with light and shadow reminds me a little of some of the early modernist painters, like Bonnard, maybe. They were also obsessed with capturing those fleeting moments of intimacy and domestic life, but with paint instead of film. Ultimately, what makes Callahan's work so compelling is its ambiguity. Is it about the beauty of the female form, the bond between mother and child, or something else entirely? It's up to us to decide.