Portret van Corry Mak van Waay-Zulver 1934 - 1936

This little black and white photograph is an image of Corry Mak van Waay-Zulver, made by an anonymous photographer. I find myself thinking about all the choices involved in making a picture, even one that seems so simple. The tones are soft and balanced, with no harsh shadows, the photographer has really nailed the lighting here. The texture of the paper is smooth, almost like skin. And there's this slight blurriness around the edges, which adds to the dreamlike quality of the image. Look how the knit of the sweater contrasts with the tones of the face and neck, drawing the eye to the face and creating a frame of softness. It reminds me of some of the portraits by early photographers like Julia Margaret Cameron, who were also experimenting with capturing the essence of a person rather than just a likeness. Art is always a conversation, isn’t it? A dialogue across time and space.