Carte photographique de la lune, planche XV (Photographic Chart of the Moon, plate XV) Possibly 1904 - 1914

Charles Le Morvan’s plate XV from his Photographic Chart of the Moon is made with a camera, lens, and photographic paper. It's not painting, but the gradations of light and dark give it that kind of feel. The surface of the moon here has a kind of active, eruptive presence; you can see the bloom of what looks like volcanic action or impact. What was Le Morvan thinking when he framed this shot, processed it, and printed it? Was he aware that he was making something that could be thought of alongside the art of his time? I can relate the push-pull of dark and light, that quality of depth. And, of course, the moon itself has been a presence in painting forever. Think of that luminous, ethereal orb in a Caspar David Friedrich landscape! What painters took from the moon then, I wonder if Le Morvan was taking something back? Photography and painting are always in this conversation. I think all artists are, across time.