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
€500
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
€1,858
Hombre de la Luna
James Sparshatt
Photography - 50 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
€737
Last man standing
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€737
Dark Materials I
James Sparshatt
Photography - 67 x 100 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
€1,858
Storm over the Altiplano
James Sparshatt
Photography - 50 x 75 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 inch
€1,177
Dark Materials VI
James Sparshatt
Photography - 100 x 150 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 59.1 x 0.8 inch
€3,655
El Revolucionario
James Sparshatt
Photography - 50 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
€985
El caballero
James Sparshatt
Photography - 35 x 35 x 1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 13.8 x 0.4 inch
€1,177
Dark Materials VIII
James Sparshatt
Photography - 100 x 150 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 59.1 x 0.8 inch
€4,027
Waiting for the drums
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€737
Mujer de Santiago
James Sparshatt
Photography - 35 x 35 x 1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 13.8 x 0.4 inch
€737
La vieja guajira
James Sparshatt
Photography - 35 x 35 x 1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 13.8 x 0.4 inch
€737
Silent Dreams
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€737
La furia del manton
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€737
Dark Materials IV
James Sparshatt
Photography - 67 x 100 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
€1,858
Dark Materials II
James Sparshatt
Photography - 67 x 100 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
€2,168
La montée des eaux
Fabienne Cresens
Photography - 100 x 100 cm Photography - 39.4 x 39.4 inch
€1,100
Dagoberto - Cuba musician
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.5 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.2 inch
€985
Spring amidst the beech
James Sparshatt
Photography - 60 x 85 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 33.5 x 0 inch
€1,425
The house on the marsh
James Sparshatt
Photography - 60 x 85 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 33.5 x 0 inch
€1,425
Frosted reeds
James Sparshatt
Photography - 60 x 85 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 33.5 x 0 inch
€1,425
Corazon y alma (1)
James Sparshatt
Photography - 55 x 75 x 1 cm Photography - 21.7 x 29.5 x 0.4 inch
€2,450
Mujer de Viñales
James Sparshatt
Photography - 90 x 90 x 2 cm Photography - 35.4 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
€2,100
El naufrago
James Sparshatt
Photography - 67 x 100 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
€2,168
Tropicana
James Sparshatt
Photography - 67.5 x 67.5 x 2 cm Photography - 26.6 x 26.6 x 0.8 inch
€1,177
Les Vacances V
James Sparshatt
Photography - 100 x 116 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 45.7 x 0.8 inch
€2,416
Les Vacances IV
James Sparshatt
Photography - 100 x 116 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 45.7 x 0.8 inch
€2,416
Les Vacances III
James Sparshatt
Photography - 100 x 116 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 45.7 x 0.8 inch
€2,416
Les Vacances II
James Sparshatt
Photography - 100 x 116 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 45.7 x 0.8 inch
€2,416
Les Vacances I
James Sparshatt
Photography - 100 x 116 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 45.7 x 0.8 inch
€2,416
Corazon y alma
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
€850
Bayou dreaming
James Sparshatt
Photography - 60 x 85 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 33.5 x 0 inch
€1,673
Bluesman on Beale
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
€825
