Marcella by Benedict F. Herzog

Marcella 1900 - 1905

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photogravure, photography

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portrait

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photogravure

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self-portrait

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photo restoration

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portrait image

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pictorialism

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photography

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19th century

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united-states

Dimensions: 8 x 6 13/16 in. (20.32 x 17.3 cm) (image)

Copyright: No Copyright - United States

Benedict Herzog made this print, Marcella, using gelatin silver. It’s got this great sepia tone, like an old memory. The texture is something else, it’s soft and dreamy but also has a kind of graininess. Look at the way her face is rendered, it almost feels like it’s emerging from the shadows. It's like Herzog is building the image layer by layer. And notice the delicate lace around her shoulders and the slightly out-of-focus hand near her head, it’s all about suggestion rather than sharp detail. There’s something about the intimate feel of this that reminds me of Julia Margaret Cameron, who also used photography to explore emotion and the inner life. Art’s always been this ongoing conversation, hasn’t it? Each artist riffing off what came before. With pieces like this, we see how Herzog takes a new approach that embraces imperfection and ambiguity, letting the image breathe with possibility.

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