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Motion of Light in Water - Lehigh University Art Galleries, Nicholas

Motion of Light in Water – Slide 10

Mareggiata, Sante Vittorio Malli, https://luag.lehigh.edu/sites/luag.lehigh.edu/files/The%20Motion%20of%20Lightin%20Water.pdf

Slide 10 of the “Motion of Light in Water” collection is titled Mareggiata, an Italian word that translates roughly to “stormy sea”. Shot by Sante Vittorio Malli sometime from 1923 to 2003, presumably in Italy, it is a gelatin silver print. The shot is a grainy black and white image that captures water as a motion blur, adding a sense of movement to the shot. The image consists of a blurred, dark and foamy wave breaking in the background, with the silhouette of a man in swim trunks walking out of the water away from the breaking wave. Four children in the foreground play in shallower water, all turned to face the man walking out. Most of the water in the mid- to foreground is captured as a bright white blur of foam, and so having the darker forms of the people among it allows the two elements to strongly contrast from one another. The viewer’s eye is also drawn to the wave in the background as it is also darker, and the movement of the shot creates some suspense as it seems like the wave will break on the man before he can get to shore.

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