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Sally Mann — Jessie as Jessie and Jessie as Madonna
Sally Mann

Jessie as Jessie and Jessie as Madonna

Two hauntingly beautiful gelatin silver prints place Mann's daughter Jessie in a dual role, juxtaposing her natural, unguarded self against a deliberate evocation of the iconic Madonna figure. The diptych format invites a meditation on innocence and archetype, childhood and symbol, as the same young face carries vastly different emotional weight across the paired images. Mann's characteristic use of rich tonal contrast and soft, luminous light blurs the boundary between documentary intimacy and timeless myth.

Medium
Gelatin silver print diptych.

🔨 Auction Lot

Photographs

October 1, 2014

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About this work

Sally Mann, Jessie as Jessie and Jessie as Madonna

Two hauntingly beautiful gelatin silver prints place Mann's daughter Jessie in a dual role, juxtaposing her natural, unguarded self against a deliberate evocation of the iconic Madonna figure. The diptych format invites a meditation on innocence and archetype, childhood and symbol, as the same young face carries vastly different emotional weight across the paired images. Mann's characteristic use of rich tonal contrast and soft, luminous light blurs the boundary between documentary intimacy and timeless myth.

Medium
Gelatin silver print diptych.
Seen at
Phillips, New York, London, Hong Kong

Related themes

Child Portrait, Renowned Photographer, Southern Gothic, Fine Art Photography, Black and White Photography, Gelatin Silver Print, Childhood Portraiture, Contemporary Photography, American Artist, Intimate Mood, Female Photographer, Black and White, Diptych Format

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