Portret van een man met een kind op schoot, beiden in Volendamse klederdracht c. 1900 - 1910

This is an early photograph by G. Hidderley depicting a man and child dressed in traditional Volendam attire. The small, monochromatic image captures a seated man holding a child in his lap, both gazing off to the side. I wonder about the relationship between the photographer and his subjects. Were they posing willingly, or were they forced to sit? In any case, it's touching; it suggests a relationship, as well as something about the place where it was taken, the clothes they wear. I can imagine Hidderley looking through the lens, adjusting the focus, and trying to capture something essential about these people, something that would resonate across time. Every artist, in a way, continues an ongoing exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another's creativity. Making a photograph like this, or a painting, embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meanings that shift over time.