Josias Von Heeringen 1914

This is Nicola Perscheid's portrait of Josias Von Heeringen, and what strikes me is the way Perscheid seems to build up the image using layers of light and shadow, almost like a painter applying glazes. It makes me think about how a photographic portrait is also a constructed thing, not just a capture of reality. Look at the way the light catches the metallic details of the uniform, or the subtle gradations in tone across Von Heeringen’s face. You can almost feel the texture of the fabric, the weight of the medals. There’s a real sense of materiality here, even though it’s a photograph. It's like, you can almost see Perscheid's hand in the darkroom, dodging and burning to bring out certain details, to create this particular image of power and authority. It reminds me a little of some of August Sander’s portraits, where he's also trying to capture these archetypes of German society. But maybe Perscheid is a bit more romantic, a bit more interested in the theater of it all. Ultimately, it’s a reminder that even the most seemingly straightforward images are full of choices, full of interpretation, and that's what makes art so endlessly fascinating, right?