Portret van Isabel Wachenheimer als jonge vrouw, 1945-1963, Duitsland / Israël / Zwitserland / Verenigde Staten? c. 1945 - 1963

This anonymous photograph of Isabel Wachenheimer as a young woman was probably made somewhere between 1945 and 1963. What strikes me is the stillness, a quietness achieved through tonal range. It’s almost entirely without contrast, existing somewhere between a drawing and a painting. In the realm of black and white photography, tone is everything. Here, it’s as though the photograph is an exercise in a restricted palette, a whisper of greys. Look at the way her features seem to emerge subtly from the paper, like the barely-there brushstrokes in a charcoal drawing. The pearls are almost the same tone as her skin, making them delicate rather than precious. The photograph feels like a secret, a quiet moment snatched from the hustle. It reminds me of the portraiture of Alice Neel, a painter known for capturing the essence of her subjects with intimacy and honesty. Both artists remind us that art can be a deeply human endeavor, about capturing something true.