Portret van een Russische cavaleriesoldaat in wintertenue

This small photographic print is of a Russian cavalry soldier in winter dress, made by Joseph Cheetham. The whole piece exists in a very limited tonal range, so muted it almost feels like a memory. The image has a kind of quiet stillness, despite the subject's military status. It’s all subtle shifts in value and texture; look at the soft blurring around his fur hat compared to the sharper lines of his uniform. The surface is smooth, with the light evenly distributed. It is hard to tell what kind of camera Cheetham was using, but the effect is calming and very easy on the eye. The overall effect for me is strangely dreamlike; perhaps it reminds me that art, like life, is a matter of perspective and interpretation. It is possible to see references to artists like Eugène Atget, who documented the streets of Paris, capturing the ephemeral nature of urban life, but ultimately this piece has a unique quality all of its own.