Portret van twee vrouwen met hoeden 1903 - 1940

Jan van Roon made this tiny photograph, Portret van twee vrouwen met hoeden, at some unknown time with who-knows-what equipment. I imagine the act of setting up this shot, the way it was a social act. The subjects, two women wearing hats, stand side by side looking towards the camera. Van Roon probably had to coax them to stand still, or maybe he instructed them how to pose. He may have hoped to capture some essence of them. The sepia tone gives the image a warm, aged feel, like a memory fading into the past. The texture is smooth, almost velvety, which invites you to touch it. It feels like a relic, you know? Like some treasure found tucked away in an old photo album. The artist and the subjects are all trying to say something about themselves, each with a distinct intention and with a sense of hope. All of us artists, we’re all having a conversation across time. We build on each other’s ideas. We're all working with ambiguity and uncertainty to make something that feels true, even if it’s never entirely clear.