Portret van een man 1900 - 1920

This black and white photograph of a man was made by Delboy & Baer. It's mounted onto a page in a bound book. I wonder what it was like to be there, in that room with the sitter, and how long it took to make. Did they have to sit still for ages, or were they joking around? Did Delboy or Baer suggest how to pose, or did the sitter bring their own presence to the scene? I can feel how important the texture is in a photo like this. The different greys of the light falling on the man’s suit, the shadow behind him, and the page itself. It’s a record of touch. The photograph, for me, communicates a sense of somebody thinking, and maybe hoping to be remembered. The man, Delboy & Baer, and all of us, we are all having a conversation across time.