‘In fact, every photograph is a fake from start to finish.’ – EDWARD STEICHENIs
Edward Steichen’s ethereal image a photograph or a painting? It’s both, and that was exactly his point. Steichen photographed the wooded scene in Mamaroneck, N.Y., hand colored the black-and-white prints with blue tones and may have even added the glowing moon. The blurring of two mediums was the aim of Pictorialism, which was embraced by professional photographers at the turn of the 20th century as a way to differentiate their work from amateur snapshots taken with newly available handheld cameras.
And no single image was more formative than Moonlight.The year before he created Moonlight, Steichen wrote an essay arguing that altering photos was no different than choosing when and where to click the shutter. Photographers,he said, always have a perspective that necessarily distorts the authenticity of their images.Although Steichen eventually abandoned Pictorialism, the movement’s influence can be seen in every photographer who seeks to create scenes, not merely capture them.Moonlight, too, continues to resonate. A century after Steichen made the image, a print sold for nearly $3 million.