Between Gazes: Exploring Intimacy in Art
I remember the first time I saw the photograph “Rue Mouffetard” by Henri Cartier-Bresson. It was at university in 2012, during an art history class. Honestly, I don’t remember anything the professor was explaining. I don’t remember the significance of the photograph, the technical details, or even the context of the class. But I do remember becoming completely obsessed with that photograph projected on the whiteboard in the classroom. For years, it was my favorite piece of art.
Photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson, courtesy of: Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/Bertrand.
As time passed, I added a few more works to that list of “favorites”:
“Girl with a Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeer and “Rousse (La Toilette)” by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
Among so many works of art, what makes one more special than others for each person?
When I stop to think about it, I realize that, in Cartier-Bresson’s photograph, I love the boy’s features, his expression of pride as he holds those two glass bottles, and the girls around him, looking at him like he’s the king of the street. This photograph allows us to be part of a moment – perhaps an important milestone in that boy’s life. While we look at the work, we share this feeling with him and create a sense of intimacy. For me, I believe intimacy is the key word that makes some works become my favorites.
Even though “Girl with a Pearl Earring” is an imaginary figure and not exactly a portrait, that image also brings me a sense of intimacy. Her gaze is focused on us, the background completely dark, as if in that moment, only we existed. As if with that gaze, she could uncover all your secrets, read your soul.
Johannes Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring, courtesy of: Mauritshuis, The Hague.
With “Rousse,” Toulouse-Lautrec presents us with one of the most intimate scenes possible. The fact that she is turned away, for me, makes the connection with the work even closer. In a relaxed position, her hair casually tied up in a bun and half of her dress already removed, sitting on the floor, she allows us to be part of that moment – a moment you would only have access to in a truly intimate relationship.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Rousse (La toilette), courtesy of: Musée d’Orsay, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Patrice Schmidt
Perhaps artists are, in fact, all a bit voyeurs. And we, as viewers, are as well, even without considering the literal meaning of the word in French (the one who sees). Because in these works, we seek to become part of a moment, however brief, sharing this feeling of profound intimacy.
References:
- 1. “Rousse (La toilette) – https://www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/oeuvres/rousse-la-toilette-726”
- 2. “Johannes Vermeer Moça com brinco de pérola – https://www.mauritshuis.nl/pt/descobrir-a-colecao/descobrir-a-colecao/670-moca-com-brinco-de-perola/#detail-data”
- 3. “Henri Cartier-Bresson Rue Mouffetard, Paris 1952 – https://www.centrepompidou.fr/fr/ressources/oeuvre/cezzGMA”
