The Spirit of the Staircase

“The Spirit of the Staircase” by Marcel Marien was taken in 1949. The Spirit of the Staircase has great contrast and range of color/ tone. The shoes placed on the staircase positioned to look as if someone is walking up the stairs. The camera angle is taken at about waist level from the ground, and places the shoes slightly above eye level for the viewer. The positioning of the photograph leaves the shoes in the center vertically, but in the lower third horizontally.

I'd describe this photograph as Interpretive, belonging with works such as “Duane Michals” by Abe Frajndlich. I believe it’s more descriptive than abstract. the focus seems to be almost more on the stairs than the shoes, as there is some blurred aspect to the shoe on the left, while being fairly focused on the one on the right. I can see many principles of design at play here; including unity, hierarchy, contrast and rhythm/repetition.

The black leather business shoes contrast with the white staircase, giving a very clear indicator what the subject of the photograph is. This photograph has lots of mid tones, few true blacks and even less true whites, but they’re all there. The highlights on the edge of the stairs, the heels of the shoes as well as the very beginning of the banister all show true whites and are surrounded by darks and mid tones. The photo follows the rule of thirds diagonally and horizontally.

The lines created by the trim on the stairs serve two artistic functions. The first is that as you follow those lines up the staircase, the crossing lines from the steps bring your attention to the shoes. The second function is that the lines lead your eyes up the staircase, giving a truer sense of motion, furthering the illusion that these shoes are walking up the steps in real- time, rather than being a stagnant entity.

It’s a very introspective piece that can be thought of in many ways. Perhaps the Spirit of the staircase is one that haunts at night, walking up and down, echoing it’s footsteps through the house. It could also be seen as a metaphor for moving on. Perhaps the upstairs floor, which is cut off just after the top step appears, is leading to the afterlife, ending this spirit’s time in limbo. It could also just be a pair of shoes on a staircase - such is the way introspective pieces are looked at.

At first, the way the image is framed- with the banister running in a small curve up the stairs - seems odd with all that unused space on the left not matching the right. It makes it seem off kilter. But, this photograph is very well balanced, despite first appearances.

if you look in the upper left and right corners, you’ll notice one has the beginnings of a railing and the other has a white wall peeking out from behind the shadow of the banister. The beginning of the wall and the start of the line from the railing are the exact angle and size within the picture, giving a sense of balance. The space the banister takes up on the left and the wall on the right are also balanced, the wall almost filling it with negative space to counter balance the positive space being taken up on the left side.

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Thank you for taking the time to read! I've enjoyed this analysis as part of my "Art History Tuesdays" series and will be coming out with more like it in the future!

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