Ida Orloff as Hannele in Hannele's Himmelfahrt 1925

Aura Hertwig made this photograph of Ida Orloff as Hannele in Hannele's Himmelfahrt sometime around 1905. I'm immediately drawn to Orloff's expression; there's a certain weightiness in her gaze that hints at the complexities of the character she embodies. Hertwig has masterfully captured a depth of emotion, hasn’t she? I wonder what it was like to be on set when she was taking these photos? What was the conversation between Aura and Ida like? I am also curious about the process of making photographs at the time; there was probably much experimentation and careful consideration of lighting and composition to capture the essence of a person. This reminds me of other photographers from the era, like Gertrude Käsebier, who were also pushing the boundaries of portraiture as a means of capturing the essence of human experience. In all of those artists' work, it is the way they represent the individual in relation to their environment that speaks to me; the ways they saw each other, and made something out of it.