Comparing The Use Of Self-Portraits In Walker Evans's Painting And Photography

At the turn of the century, a battle against painting was forged in the form of a photograph. Threatened by the new artform, painters prepared for the end of their profession. A couple decades later, both still exist side by side. In Dominique de Font-Reaulx’s chapter “Portraiture” in his Painting and Photography, he uses portraits as a measure of the effectiveness of the mediums. In 1936, two artists decided to capture two separate portraits with completely different subjects. During the oppression of the Depression and the beginning of a world war, Mark Rothko and Walker Evans decided to create two vastly different pieces united by a simple subject, a single person. While Rothko painted his Self-Portrait, Walker Evans was sent to Alabama to …show more content…
During this assignment, Evans took four photos of the wife of a sharecropper, named Allie Mae Burroughs. Evans’ photos of Allie Mae Burroughs are known for their clarity. The viewer immediately notices the stark lines of her forehead and the grain of the wood because of the sharp contrasts in colors. Viewers are drawn in by Burroughs’ eyes and expression. Her eyes specifically beg for attention and her Mona-Lisa-esque expression of indifference pulls the viewer closer. Her eyebrows furrowed and her lips pulled tight, there is a sense of desperation displayed by her expression. Candid, this photo is an honest portrayal of the subject. She has no control of the camera lending to the mood of vulnerability. does not have control of the camera, giving a sense of vulnerability. The confounding variables leading up to the capturing of this photograph. Multiple compounding variables led to the capture of this photograph. Evans had no control over light, exposure, and Allie Mae herself. He could only watch as the lines on her face were etched and her mouth