Portret van Johannes van Zijll de Jong in legeruniform 1930 - 1935

Editor: Here we have a photograph, titled 'Portret van Johannes van Zijll de Jong in legeruniform' – that's 'Portrait of Johannes van Zijll de Jong in Army Uniform' – created sometime between 1930 and 1935. The anonymous artist chose photography as their medium and created a rather straightforward and rather stiff military portrait. What strikes you when you look at this piece? Curator: Isn't it funny how we inherit such formal representations of ourselves? Here's this fellow, presumably wanting to present a very particular image of strength, responsibility, maybe even a little bit of stoicism. And the anonymous artist, with their click, has captured not just the *look*, but the slight tension in his shoulders. I can imagine the studio, can’t you? A stark room and a camera flash that freezes him forever in time. Don’t you wonder, what was he thinking in that instant? Editor: I do. Was this for his family? Maybe official military records? Did he like how he looked? So many questions! And why did the photographer remain nameless? Curator: Exactly! And there's such quiet drama in this little frame, or is it simply the past whispering to us? The clothing itself suggests power. I wonder how different our reading of this photograph would be were he wearing a clown’s hat. Think about it. Wouldn't the narrative shift completely? We would probably dismiss his potential in two seconds flat. But what if this man in uniform had a secret talent of writing funny plays to pass time on those dreary war nights? We would never know. It’s a good exercise to try – imagine who *he* really was, not who this picture wants you to think. Editor: I hadn’t thought of it that way. It’s like the photo is a mask, and we have to imagine the person underneath. It is kind of exciting! Curator: It is more exciting to know the real story! Perhaps someone might discover that story one day and share with the world! What we see then, becomes a true narrative, something of greater substance.