Portret van een onbekende baby met een strik om het hoofd 1902 - 1908

This is a mounted photograph of an unknown baby with a bow, made by E. v.d. Kerkhoff. It's a tiny picture, just a few inches tall, and the sepia tones give it a dreamy, almost antique feel. The baby is dressed in white and perched on what looks like a fur rug. It's all soft textures and gentle light. You can almost feel the plushness of the fabric, the delicate folds of the baby's dress. The way the light catches the edges of the bow on the baby's head is just lovely. It's not about sharp details, it's more about mood. Thinking about mark-making, it seems like the artist was interested in the play of light and shadow, in creating a sense of depth and volume. It makes me think of Gertrude Käsebier. Like Kerkhoff, Käsebier also embraced soft-focus techniques to create emotionally evocative portraits, imbuing her subjects with a sense of timeless beauty and introspection. It all gives the image an ethereal quality. Art is a conversation, right?