Donald Davidson c. 1930

Alfred Stieglitz made this portrait of Donald Davidson using photography, a process of light and time. What I love about photography is how it captures the subtle gradations of tone, and how these tones create form. Look at the light as it catches the planes of Davidson’s face. It's really beautiful; the way it models his cheekbones, and the crinkles around his eyes. It gives you a sense of the lived-in quality of his face, its history. The soft focus adds to that, blurring the lines just enough to make it feel more like a memory. It’s interesting to think of how Stieglitz must have worked with light to create that. This reminds me of Lucian Freud’s portraits, the way he used paint to really dig into the surface of the skin, finding a kind of truth in the flesh. Maybe art isn't about perfection, but about digging deeper, embracing the imperfections.