Anne Brigman, ca.1910
The foreground features the curved silhouette of a woman poised on a hilltop, set against mirrored rolling hills and rural landscape. Weaving about her frame is a thin striped shawl billowing in the wind, this coupled with her arms positioned romantically and outstretched, convey a soft fluidity.
Typically Pictorialist in style, the subject and composition is designed to bring a sense of fantasy separating it from the documentation of every day life and therefore setting it apart as a thing of art. Particularly with this image the landscape carries with it a strong sense of drama and effect, making the image highly dynamic and romantic. The soft focusing, so essential in Pictorialist photography has been used to great effect, epitomizing the Pictorialist idea to note only a "pristine, romantic and vanished world." and this concept of "aesthetic escapism" is felt keenly when considering the subjects outstretched arms, her very self set free against the sky.
Anne Brigman (1869–1950) was an American Photographer and one of the original members of the Photo-secession movement in America. Her work often depicts nude women in primordial, naturalistic contexts. After shooting the photographs, she would extensively touch up the negatives with paints, pencil, or superimposition.
Her work acted as a voice for woman during the suffragette movement, as this image celebrates female freedom and liberation just previous to women gaining the vote.
