Jan 1 1972, made during a vacation in the winter with Elizabeth. This photo was taken on New Years Day shows the silhouette of a man, seen through a frosted glass partition, leaning on a railing and gazing out to the dark and seeming impenetrable ocean. Composed of large rectilinear shapes-the glass partition, the horizon, and the railing - ruble gradations of tone, this forlorn image communicates a sense of isolation and aloneness. Throughout his career, Kertesz had often recorded isolated individuals, usually men, in the urban landscape: for example, he had depicted a line street sweeper in Eszterom. Whereas he had allowed the poetry of place and the formal strength of his compositions to infuse such early photographs with a visual lyricism, in Martinique, the harsh, tight geometry further increased the despondent nature of the subject.

Kertesz was so skillful at transforming the man into a symbol for himself that many viewers assume that Martinique is a literal self portrait. Indeed, like that solitary figure in Martinique, Kertesz brooded about his future: although he had been to achieve considerable success, he was no longer youthful and he and Elizabeth were increasingly beset with health problems.