Photograph 1910

This silvery photograph by Thomas Eakins captures a moment of airy lightness with a woman in a white dress at a doorway. I like to think about what Eakins was thinking when he captured this image. Maybe he was looking at the Dutch masters, maybe he was thinking about light and shadow and the way they play across a surface, and isn’t that what we all do when we’re trying to make something? See how the woman in the doorway seems to be emerging from the shadows? The black and white values shift and merge, giving a sense of movement. The woman’s hand gestures have a choreographic feel; they're a dance of light and form. Like in painting, the photographic image involves process, intention, and gesture, and, crucially, light. And, in both, the artist invites us to participate in an unfolding visual conversation.