The Daily Valdemar No. 20: April 1

Valdemar Andersen, for the satirical magazine Klods-Hans, October 29, 1909.

Today's moment of calm is one of strong color blocking and dramatic shadowing.

During an expedition 1907-09 Ernest Shackleton and his team managed to come within 97 km of the geographical South Pole. Roald Amundsen would reach the Pole two years later. It was the time of the damn runnings about as the polar bear characterized it from the North Pole that same year. Shackleton was in Copenhagen at The Royal Danish Geographical Society in the presence of the King and Queen in the autumn of 1909 where he was presented with a golden medal and gave a speech illustrated with "excellent slides and moving pictures" as the journal of the society recorded.

Valdemar Andersen has drawn Shackleton in the dramatic shade from the light of the projector, tied in as he is from the sharp white light from the screen and the wooden podium. Still he owns the whole of the picture plane, touching and reaching beyond himself. Vertical light emanates from his white tie and waistcoat front defining his face even further through shadowing. Valdemar has written his name as if it is stated on the screen, which is basically the story Shackleton is selling.

It was a society event, but let us we take a moment to acknowledge the satisfying fact that he was giving a lecture in white tie.