A Venetian Requiem Annan, James Craig  (Scottish, 1864-1946)

"A Venetian Requiem" has a lively and picturesque effect. Once again Craig Annan’s perception of space is of great importance. It is of a street scene showing the passing of a procession. There are – that is – there were two figures in the foreground quite near to the camera. Naturally they turned out to be far too large, dull and under-exposed. The procession moves between these two figures in a lively exchange of darker and light patches. This draws the viewer’s full attention and he is not concerned about an explanation for the two dark areas in the foreground which are seemingly necessary for the overall effect of the image. Only later will he remember and the ingenuity of it will probably make him smile unless he is a Philistine. This is an original idea to say the least. A similarly fortunate solution would rarely be successful. One would not normally get beyond the ‘view’*

Reproduced / Exhibited

Buchanan, William, and James C. Annan. J. Craig Annan: Selected Texts and Bibliography. New York: G.K. Hall, 1994. fig. 13

Naef, Weston J. The Collection of Alfred Stieglitz: Fifty Pioneers of Modern Photography. New York: Viking Press, 1978. no. 16

References

*Translation from German. Bibl. 108: ‘M’ [F. Matthies-Masuren]. ‘J. Craig Annan Glasgow’. Photographisches Centralblatt, 5th Year, no. 4 (5 Feb. 1899), p. 81-85.