Two faces draw closer in the subdued light, while a bare shoulder appears in the foreground. The framing emphasizes proximity and the soft chiaroscuro, in an atmosphere where the intimacy of the bodies blends with a certain strangeness. This way of bringing forms out of the shadows recalls the treatment of the recumbent figures of Saint-Denis, whose faces and stone volumes Jahan reveals with subtle light, giving them an almost lifelike presence. This photograph is part of the project created in collaboration with Jean Cocteau, entitled "Plain-Chant."
"Before each photo, I would read them the text I wanted to illustrate" (P. Jahan, Objectif). Like the mirrors in Jean Cocteau's work, photography becomes for Jahan a gateway to another world, to the unconscious and to dreams. In 1947, he created "Plain-Chant," bridging his artistic universe with Cocteau's poetic one. In this series of nudes, Jahan illustrates and transcribes the subject of lovers' sleep imagined by the poet in 1923. Here the act of love gives way to signs of love through gestures of tenderness and chaste attitudes, marked by plays of light.