Fanny's haren worden gekamd door een schoonheidsspecialiste Possibly 1949

This unassuming black and white photograph captures a fleeting moment of a woman getting her hair done, and it's made by someone who hasn't put their name on it. There is such intimacy in this photograph of a beauty treatment – the close proximity, the trusting surrender of Fanny as she gets her locks coiffed. We are placed as voyeurs, but without the darkness that often implies. I wonder about the photographer, did they ask permission? Were they friends? The composition has a casual quality, with the sink and mirror placed on the right edge of the frame, but I find the off-centered view makes me study the image more closely, allowing me to notice the glint of light on a glass bottle, or the pattern of the hairdresser's apron. It reminds me of other photographs by unsung photographers who invite us into a shared moment of care and beautification, even if we don’t know the exact circumstances that led to the image. It emphasizes how all art forms, including photography, thrive on an ongoing dialogue between artists, inspiring them to capture and share different ways of experiencing the world.