Portret van koning Alfons XIII van Spanje 1905 - 1906

This is a little photographic portrait of King Alfons XIII of Spain, made anonymously. The artist, or maybe just the photographer, captures the young king in such a formal way, buttoned up in his military uniform. There’s a real stiffness to the image. But then you notice the texture – the way the light catches on the paper, the tiny imperfections in the print. It gives the whole thing a kind of vulnerable quality. The darks are deep, and I keep thinking about what it means to make an image, any image, and how much intention, or lack of it, goes into it. I can't help but think of Gerhard Richter's blurry photographs. Both artists grapple with the way images can both reveal and conceal, solidifying a moment while simultaneously slipping away from any definitive interpretation. It's a reminder that art isn't about answers, but about the questions we ask along the way.