The sitter fills the frame, seen from close range as he turns toward the violin he holds upright before him. The eye is led first to the two hands and the scroll of the instrument, then up the line of the arm to the face, inclined and lit from the left. Behind him the foliage is thrown out of focus, a shifting field of pale and dark that sets the figure forward. Contrast is moderate to high; the light gathers on hair, beard and the worked surface of the hands, while the dark coat recedes. The instrument itself is held almost entirely in shadow. The sitter is Anton Samuelsen, the photographer’s maternal grandfather.

Technical Details: Gelatin silver print, likely a warm-toned or toned print, on a heavy cream mount with a wide window margin; a faint inscription in pencil sits below the image on the mount. The verso carries a pencilled catalogue number in the upper left; no title or signature is recorded on the object. The violin shown here remains in the family's keeping.

Format: TIFF

Size: 184,2 mb

Resolution: 4830×6353

DPI: 300

Color Model: RGB

Color Sync: Adobe RGB (1998)

Prints are available for purchase on the website