Arthur B. Carles 1923

Alfred Stieglitz took this photograph of Arthur B. Carles, a painter, sometime in the early 20th century. You can see how Stieglitz works with light and shadow to create a sense of depth and character. I think about Carles sitting for the portrait, maybe a bit nervous or self-conscious, as many artists are when they are the subject rather than the creator. I imagine Stieglitz, carefully adjusting the camera, seeking to capture not just Carles' likeness but also something of his spirit, his inner world. The soft focus gives the image an ethereal quality, blurring the lines between reality and representation. As a painter, I always look for clues about the artist's hand, their touch. In this photograph, I see Stieglitz’s eye, his way of seeing the world, his vision. And in Carles’s face, I see a fellow artist, someone engaged in the same ongoing conversation about what it means to create, to express, to be human. It's like a painterly conversation, but with light and shadow instead of pigment.