Groepsportret van drie mannen en vier vrouwen in klederdracht 1889 - 1925

This small photograph at the Rijksmuseum, by Josephus Hendrikus Petrus Coppens, portrays a group of seven people in traditional clothing. I wonder what it was like to be Coppens here. I mean, he's organizing this composition, right? Getting all these folks to sit still, and I can imagine him adjusting their hats and dresses, trying to get that perfect balance between formal and informal, posed and natural. He probably had to take several attempts! The faces, each so unique, hint at stories untold. It's like he’s trying to capture not just their image but also a sense of their lives, their culture, and their place in the world. I feel like he's speaking to something deep about community, history, and how we see ourselves in relation to others. Like, what is a group anyway? What do we ask from it? It makes you wonder about the stories behind these faces.