>>4287238agreed, but what I'm saying is that the utility of an old color photo of russia is its content, rather than expression through the medium.
The interest in an old photo of russia is primarily the fact that you cannot go back 500 years to Russia and see what it was like, so to see a photo of it provides you valuable information.
Whereas, with an artistic piece, the information is contained within the manipulation of the subject within the constraints of the medium.
Where these overlap, in my opinion, is this picture of Lee
There are many other pictures of Lee, but few have the impact that this one does.
The two supportive hands resting on his chair, the faintest hint of uncertainty, fear, and sadness in his face, his hands hidden from view, despite hands being a vital component of portraiture. Lee's gaze at the viewer, while his son and subordinate gaze into the distance.
This photo was art at its moment of creation, it was taken immediately after his surrender to U. S. Grant. It's the overlap of portraiture as historical recording, and portraiture as art.
