Groepsportret van de familie Kessler aan een buitentafel tijdens een kopje koffie 1913

This is a photograph taken by Geldolph Adriaan Kessler showing the Kessler family at an outdoor table during a coffee break. The scene seems bathed in the filtered sunlight of a summer afternoon. You can almost hear the gentle rustling of leaves and the clinking of porcelain as the family gathers. I bet Kessler carefully selected his angle, framing his relatives amidst the verdant backdrop of trees and grass. This feels almost like a stage, doesn’t it? A tableau vivant frozen in time. I wonder if they knew they were being observed, captured for posterity. Did they feel self-conscious, or were they lost in the ease of conversation? Look at the figure reclining in the chair, for example, as he gazes out into the distance. What's on his mind? Is he thinking about the past or dreaming of the future? What about the tennis racket that is left abandoned on the ground? Kessler’s photograph is not just a record of a moment, but an invitation to imagine the lives and stories contained within it. It reminds us that every family has its own unique history.