Portretten 1935 - 1940

These two photographic portraits, by an anonymous artist, probably came from a family album. There's something particularly haunting about these sepia-toned images. The light is diffused and soft, almost romantic, which is an odd counterpoint to the subject matter - these are portraits of soldiers in uniform. I keep coming back to the way the images are presented. The physical texture of the album page, its brownish hue, offers a powerful counterpoint to the starkness of the portraits themselves. Look closely at the way the light catches the edge of each image, creating a border within a border. It's subtle, but it adds another layer of depth and complexity. The portraits remind me a little of the work of August Sander, who made portraiture a form of social documentation. But here, the anonymity introduces an ambiguity, a sense of mystery, and a chilling sense of unknowability that asks us to bring our own questions. This really highlights how art is an ongoing dialogue, a space for multiple interpretations.