great photographic portraits #8



James Joyce by Berenice Abbott, 1928

A lot of well-known photographers photographed James Joyce during his self-imposed exile in Paris, but this is my favourite because it looks to me as if it is how Joyce wanted to be depicted, as if he had some personal input into the process. There's something slightly humorous about it - perhaps unintentionally - but I like the relaxed, languid pose, the world-weary expression, and the way the hat, cane, tie, and the rings on the almost feminine fingers all combine to lend him the air of a rather disillusioned, fading dandy. As Elaine comments below, he does indeed look as if he might get up and dance a jig or tell a tall tale. But only if the puppeteer was to pull the invisible strings.