Carte photographique de la lune, planche XI.A (Photographic Chart of the Moon, plate XI.A) Possibly 1907 - 1914

Charles Le Morvan made this photographic chart of the moon, plate XI.A using an early method of photography. It's amazing to think of the process. It’s all about tone, isn’t it? Like a Morandi painting. The eye drifts across the surface, slowly registering the details, the gradations. There's a kind of haptic quality to the image, as if you could reach out and touch the surface of the moon itself. Look at the way the light catches the rims of the craters, how the shadows define their shapes. The inky blackness of space provides a stark contrast to the grey, dusty surface of the moon. The surface feels almost tangible, the texture of the paper adding to the effect. It makes you wonder what it's like to walk on the moon. It makes me think of Vija Celmins and her obsessive, gorgeous renderings of the moon, the night sky, the ocean. This photograph is a different medium, but both artists are driven by a desire to capture the infinite, to make sense of the vastness of the universe.