Vriendengroep van Loentje Onnen 1912 - 1913

This is a photograph, Vriendengroep van Loentje Onnen, by Carolina Frederika Onnen. Looking at this image, it’s like stumbling upon a secret, a quietly powerful document of its time. The photograph itself is glued into an album on a grey page. It's a sepia-toned image of a group of friends. The photograph is rather small in scale, and the scene captures a group of individuals in a casual pose, possibly on a set of steps. The light is soft, creating a gentle contrast that invites you in. I'm drawn to the way the figures are arranged, not perfect and posed like a formal portrait, but more relaxed and natural. There's a sense of intimacy, a feeling of being invited into a private moment. This work reminds me a little of the portraits by the painter Alice Neel. Both artists seem interested in the real, the imperfect, and the human. It’s the kind of image that keeps you looking, finding new details each time, making you wonder about the stories and connections held within.