Untitled (portrait of woman in hat with black veil, looking left) after 1940

This portrait of a woman in a hat, shrouded in a black veil, looking left, was captured by Paul Gittings using photography. I'm picturing Gittings carefully setting up the shot. Maybe he started with a concept, but the image itself emerged through layers of adjustments and intuition. It's like he was feeling his way through the darkroom, each choice shaping the final image, bringing out the luminosity of her skin against the dark fabric. That veil, how it catches the light and casts shadows, almost like a painter's brushstroke, is what draws me in. What was she thinking, sitting there, letting him capture her? It's a strange dance, this act of portraiture. Painters throughout history have explored similar themes of identity, concealment, and revelation. Think of those Old Master portraits where clothing and adornment tell a story, or the way Frida Kahlo used clothing to communicate her identity. Anyway, artists are always riffing off each other, borrowing ideas, and pushing boundaries. It's all one big, ongoing conversation.