Marcella 1900 - 1905

This dreamy photograph, “Marcella,” by Benedict Herzog, feels so delicate you could almost blow on it and the image would float away. It’s a reminder that photography in the late 19th century wasn’t just about snapping a picture; it was about crafting an image, layer by layer, in the darkroom. I imagine Herzog, coaxing these sepia tones out of the ether, probably felt like a magician of sorts! Look at the way Marcella's hand gently touches her head, her expression serene, as if caught in a moment of contemplation or perhaps adjusting her headpiece. The lace trim on her shoulder is blurred, soft, and fuzzy, it could almost be a Degas painting. In its quiet way, this photograph feels part of a wider conversation about beauty and representation happening across art forms at the time, all those painters and photographers responding to each other, and to the world. Photography, like painting, embraces a kind of beautiful uncertainty.