Portret van een vrouw, vermoedelijk gravin Maria van Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen van Vlaanderen before 1901

Edouard Fabronius captured this portrait of a woman, likely Countess Maria van Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen of Flanders, on a small rectangular print, maybe in the late 19th century. It’s a pretty standard, stiff portrait, with the woman gazing off to the side. The cool thing is how the tones are handled. There's this overall smokiness, a soft-focus thing happening. It’s not about sharp details. It’s all about atmosphere. Check out the way the light falls across her face and dress. It’s not harsh; it’s more like a gentle wash. The artist coaxes different greys and blacks out of the same basic tones, giving you a feeling more than a literal description. Look at the way the dark background sort of bleeds into her hair. It makes her seem kind of ethereal. There's a touch of Nadar in how he treats the image as something melancholic, not just a record of someone's face, you know?