Reproductie naar een portret van Hazenbroek door W.F. Boelsums 1920 - 1985

This stately photo portrait was made by Willem Frederik Boelsums, probably with a large format camera. I wonder, what was it like for Boelsums to be on one side of the lens and his sitter, Hazenbroek, on the other? The photo is toned, sepia almost, so the effect is warm, but there is something so official and cold about the sitter's pose. He stands in front of some kind of grand staircase, but his eyes are locked on the camera, his body stiff in his uniform. The hand that grips the sword seems to have a certain tension in the fingers. I imagine Boelsums, behind the camera, trying to offer direction, maybe trying to get Hazenbroek to soften, just a little. There is an exchange happening, a negotiation even. Painters are in a constant conversation with each other and with photographers like Boelsums. We are all trying to capture something about what it means to be alive, and that exchange of ideas, across time, is what keeps art vital.