Portret van een onbekende vrouw met een hoed en een jas aan c. 1895 - 1908

This photograph of an unknown woman with a hat and coat was taken by E. v.d. Kerkhoff, though we don't know when it was made. I like to imagine Kerkhoff setting up the shot and the kind of exchange that they might have had with the model; maybe she was shy and they worked together to make her feel at ease. I feel like I can imagine the material of the set the photographer set up: I'm thinking it felt staged, not entirely convincing. Kerkhoff has managed to capture a real sense of personhood in the woman's face. When I look at this, I am reminded of other early photography, like that of Julia Margaret Cameron. What I like most about this kind of image is that it invites me to dream up stories and imagine the life of this woman. Who was she? What was her life like? I'll never know, and that's kind of the point. It opens a space of possibility and imagination.