Untitled 1932

This photograph was made by Toni von Horn, though we don't know exactly when. I love how the background is almost as present as the sitter. The slightly out of focus floral wallpaper creates an interesting, slightly hallucinatory effect. It flattens the space so that the woman seems pressed against it like a flower in a book. The whole image has this wonderful range of grays that give it a tactile quality, like holding a smooth stone. Look at the way the light catches the edges of her hat. It’s so subtle and yet it gives the image this feeling of depth, like she might just step right out of the frame. It reminds me a little of some of the portraits by Man Ray, where he’s playing with light and shadow to create these surreal, dreamlike images. It’s like von Horn is inviting us to see the world in a new way, where the familiar becomes strange and the ordinary becomes extraordinary.