“Only the photographer, himself or herself, knows the effects he or she wants. They should know by instinct, grounded in experience what subjects are enhanced by hard or soft light or by dark treatment”
~ Bill Brandt (1904 - 1983)
“I believe in deeply ordered chaos”
~ Francis Bacon, Painter (1909-1992)
Bill was one of the great insightful portraitists of the 20th Century. Master of the environmental portrait where subject and surroundings merge to create a study of great depth. Francis Bacon is generally acknowledged as one of Britain’s foremost 20th Century painters and a troubled genius. This is one of my all time favourite portraits shot in one of my favourite places, Primrose Hill in North London. I actually went there two weeks ago after Paris Photo to pay homage to this image and because it always connects me to my roots. Brandt breaks all the rules of composition but manages to produce a portrait of such atmospheric power that matches the enigma and intensity of his subject. A meeting of two great artists.
