Marba en Olga Titzenthaler, dochter en echtgenote van de fotograaf, op het dakterras van het woonhuis in de Friedrichstrasse, Berlijn

This is a silver gelatin print by Waldemar Titzenthaler, depicting Marba and Olga Titzenthaler on a rooftop in Berlin. The muted tones work almost like a monochrome painting. It reminds me that photography is as much about what the artist chooses to include in the frame, as it is about the available light, or the sharpness of the lens. Look at the rough texture of the brickwork, and the wild, unkempt grasses growing around the edges of the roof. The artist is less interested in capturing a perfect likeness of the figures, and more interested in the contrast between these textures, and the smooth fabric of the mother’s dress. It is a very human image, almost like a snapshot. You can imagine the photographer setting up his camera, adjusting the focus, and then stepping back to capture this intimate moment between mother and child. Like a painting, a photograph only captures a single moment, but it can evoke a whole world of feelings and memories. Think of the work of Lisette Model, another photographer drawn to the gritty realities of urban life. Art is about conversations across time.