Portret van koningin Wilhelmina met waaier en diadeem 1905

This photograph of Queen Wilhelmina, with her fan and diadem, was taken in Amsterdam around 1901 by Wegner & Mottu. Look at the way the light falls across the Queen's dress, how the subtle gradations of tone give it depth and texture. I'm thinking about the physicality of the image, the way it feels almost sculptural, like a bas-relief. It’s a photograph, but it’s all about the surface and light. Think about it as an exercise in observing tone, and the transformation of something real into this abstracted play of light and shadow. In the lower part of the image you can see floral decorations at the hem of her gown, and the way that they seem to almost dissolve into the ground; it reminds me of a Turner painting. It's the kind of visual trickery that makes a work compelling. Like with Manet, here is the process of image making that is foregrounded over the need for detail. In the end, art is all about how you see, not just what you see.