Original Black-and-White Portraits to Adorn Your Walls

Capturing the present moment to immortalise it over time: this is the aspiration of black-and-white portraiture. Inspired by old photographs, the lens of a monochrome photo inscribes almost imperceptible expressions – so subtle that only the shutter of a seasoned eye could capture it. Monochrome photographs, especially black-and-white portraits, have long held the status of fantastic ornamental objects, ideal for setting off any interior decoration. Often, plays of light – now dark, now dazzling – leave the observer in a state of expectation. A thousand questions cross our minds as we attempt to decipher the gaze of the subject, their facial expression, and so on. It is this pervasive mysterious side that we love in Damien Dufresne’s work. The artist sparks our curiosity. We attempt in vain to put a name to each hue, which sometimes seems to veer towards charcoal grey. The high contrast of black and white is interspersed with shades of grey. Nicolas Guérin loves accentuating the subjects of his masterpieces. We can almost viscerally feel the emotion expressed by the black-and-white portrait, in close-up or staged. The expression of ardour, the face of passion, the ecstatic gaze: the artist gives life to each photograph. Decorations perfectly designed to beautify a wall once considered drab. Photographing scenes from everyday life: the little moments that sometimes pass by unseen. This is Lee Jeffries ’ hidden talent. His predilection: taking photos of anonymous strangers and homeless people. And each shot seems to tell a story. Each expression is so intense that we can easily understand the artist’s fervour for this theme. A gaze that might usually appear empty, but for the moment of a black-and-white portrait ignites vivid interest. Once hung on a wall or laid out on a flat surface, all of these artworks appear inexplicably profound.