Black and White Portraits
The allure of black and white. Color can articulate reality and reflect realism, but taking it away focuses on contrast and the use of monochromatic tone to set an atmosphere that draws the viewer in. This increase in impact has been harnessed by photographers since the first successful black and white images were taken by Joseph Nicephore Niepce in the early 19th century, leading to further success in 1825 when he managed to produce a black and white image of a window. Naturally colored photographs would not be developed until 1891 when Lipmann Gabriel applied the phenomenon of optical light wave interface. And yet, the black and white photograph continued, particularly in portraiture. Why? Practically, black and white photographs have a longer archival shelf-life but artistically, color isn't needed to capture the emotion, depth, expression and indeed reality through dramatic tone and contrast of the figure in front of the lens. You only need to recant Dorothea Lange's widely circulated Migrant Mother (1936) to see how a single black and white portrait can become a symbol of plight. In our works, artists like Maud Bernos and James Sparshatt favor portraits devoid of color… portraits that draw you the viewer in and leave you to fall into their enduring monochromatic depths.
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La montée des eaux
Fabienne Cresens
Photography - 40 x 40 x 4 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 1.6 inch
$593
Calligraphing en l'air #6
Cody Choi
Photography - 75 x 50 x 1.5 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0.6 inch
$2,120
Hombre de la Luna
James Sparshatt
Photography - 50 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$841
Last man standing
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$841
Dark Materials I
James Sparshatt
Photography - 67 x 100 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,120
Storm over the Altiplano
James Sparshatt
Photography - 50 x 75 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 inch
$1,342
Dark Materials VI
James Sparshatt
Photography - 100 x 150 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 59.1 x 0.8 inch
$4,169
El Revolucionario
James Sparshatt
Photography - 50 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,123
El caballero
James Sparshatt
Photography - 35 x 35 x 1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 13.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,342
Dark Materials VIII
James Sparshatt
Photography - 100 x 150 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 59.1 x 0.8 inch
$4,592
Waiting for the drums
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$841
Mujer de Santiago
James Sparshatt
Photography - 35 x 35 x 1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 13.8 x 0.4 inch
$841
La vieja guajira
James Sparshatt
Photography - 35 x 35 x 1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 13.8 x 0.4 inch
$841
Silent Dreams
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$841
La furia del manton
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$841
Dark Materials IV
James Sparshatt
Photography - 67 x 100 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,120
Dark Materials II
James Sparshatt
Photography - 67 x 100 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,473
La montée des eaux
Fabienne Cresens
Photography - 100 x 100 cm Photography - 39.4 x 39.4 inch
$1,305
Dagoberto - Cuba musician
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.5 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.2 inch
$1,123
Corazon y alma (1)
James Sparshatt
Photography - 55 x 75 x 1 cm Photography - 21.7 x 29.5 x 0.4 inch
$2,907
Mujer de Viñales
James Sparshatt
Photography - 90 x 90 x 2 cm Photography - 35.4 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,395
El naufrago
James Sparshatt
Photography - 67 x 100 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,473
Tropicana
James Sparshatt
Photography - 67.5 x 67.5 x 2 cm Photography - 26.6 x 26.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,342
Les Vacances V
James Sparshatt
Photography - 100 x 116 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 45.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,755
Les Vacances IV
James Sparshatt
Photography - 100 x 116 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 45.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,755
Les Vacances III
James Sparshatt
Photography - 100 x 116 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 45.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,755
Les Vacances II
James Sparshatt
Photography - 100 x 116 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 45.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,755
Les Vacances I
James Sparshatt
Photography - 100 x 116 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 45.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,755
Corazon y alma
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,008
The southern gentleman
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 inch
$1,123
Bayou dreaming
James Sparshatt
Photography - 60 x 85 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 33.5 x 0 inch
$1,908
Bluesman on Beale
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$979
Spring amidst the beech
James Sparshatt
Photography - 60 x 85 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 33.5 x 0 inch
$1,625
The house on the marsh
James Sparshatt
Photography - 60 x 85 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 33.5 x 0 inch
$1,625
Frosted reeds
James Sparshatt
Photography - 60 x 85 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 33.5 x 0 inch
$1,625