Sherwood Anderson 1923

This photograph, Sherwood Anderson, was captured by Alfred Stieglitz, though the date is a mystery. It’s one of those images where the greyscale does all the talking. It's so muted, and yet, the starkness feels like a real punch to the gut. Look at the backdrop: these pale lines that seem to converge right behind Anderson's head, almost halo-like. Is it a tent? A wall? What do you think? The composition focuses our attention on Anderson himself, his slightly disheveled hair, and that intense gaze. There's something so raw about it, so unvarnished. Photography, like painting, is about process: not just capturing an image, but about feeling the texture and light, and about the physicality of being in the world. The photograph reminds me of Gerhard Richter's portraits. The conversation between them is about surface and emotion, the things that pictures can't quite capture.