Portret van een onbekende vrouw 1897 - 1914

This photograph of an unknown woman was produced by Willem Hendrik Dikkenberg in an unknown year using a photographic process, which is an art in itself! Look at how the edges softly blur, it's like Dikkenberg coaxed the image into being rather than capturing it. The woman's gaze is direct, but there is something soft about the image as a whole. The dress is dark, but the collar is light, and it reminds me of when I make a dark painting and then need to add one small dab of something brighter so it doesn't feel too oppressive. I wonder what the story is behind this woman’s portrait, did Dikkenberg know her? Was it a formal process? The questions are endless, like a Gerhard Richter piece where you are always wondering what came before and what will come next. In the end, it is for us to decide.