Portret van Jhr. F.H. van de Poel 1900 - 1903

This portrait of Jhr. F.H. van de Poel was made by Stephanus Adrianus Schotel. It’s a photograph of a man with a very serious expression. I wonder what he was thinking when he made this work? Was it a commission? Did he know the sitter well? The portrait has an interesting painterly quality with its soft focus and gradient tonality. I imagine Schotel working in the darkroom, carefully manipulating the tones to bring out the sitter’s personality. It's such a different approach to portraiture than painting, but the same principles apply: composition, tone, and gesture. The surface is soft, almost hazy, which gives the image a timeless quality. It reminds me of early photographic processes like daguerreotypes, where the image seems to emerge from the surface. Ultimately, this portrait is a meditation on the human face, a study in light and shadow, and a testament to the power of art to capture a moment in time.