Twilight near Croissy 

Robert Demachy created "Twilight near Croissy" using the process of gum bichromate print, a technique known for its painterly effects. Demachy, as a member of the Photo-Club de Paris, was part of a movement that advocated for photography as a fine art, challenging its purely documentary role. Notice how the almost monochromatic image captures the stillness and quiet of twilight. The soft focus and tonal range evoke a sense of mystery. The dark silhouettes of the trees reflected in the water create a dreamlike atmosphere. Demachy’s artistic choices reflect the Symbolist and Impressionist influences prevalent at the time, but he also contributes to the development of Pictorialism, which sought to elevate photography to the status of painting through manipulation and artistic interpretation. The emotionality is in this manipulated image, where the real meets the felt, so that we may ask ourselves how we reconcile what we see with how we feel.