Scanned from Popular Photography, December, 1939.

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THIS, I think, is my favorite picture. Although I made it a good many years ago, my pleasure in it has not grown less, but rather in­creased. Many more spectacular “masterpieces” that excited me tre­mendously at the time have long since found their way into the ash can.

It lasts so well, I believe, because it expresses a universal idea with­out straining after symbolism—the close relationship of the eternal feminine and the fertile earth. One reason that it turned out so satis­factorily was the particular joy that went into its making. There was no especially laborious preparation: “Today we shall make a picture to be called ‘Woman of Languedoc.’ “

Instead we just took a few bits of costumes and went out to get some pictures. Everything was just right. The day pleased me, the light pleased me, the model pleased me very much. I was even pleased with myself. And, finally, the pic­ture pleased me. She looked rather like a French peasant, so we called her “Woman of Languedoc.”

Nietzsche said: “What is good is easy; everything divine runs with light feet.” Lots of hard work may go into a picture, yet it must come off easily. That which is consum­mated in dull drudgery cannot help but be dull.

“Woman of Languedoc” is a miniature shot, made with a Model F Leica camera. It was taken out­doors when the sunlight was con­siderably softened by an overcast sky. The print was made by the bromoil transfer process.