Portret van een jonge man 1889 - 1925

This is a portrait of a young man by Josephus Hendrikus Petrus Coppens held at the Rijksmuseum, but who was he, what was he thinking? It’s easy to see a photograph as a neutral object, but somebody chose this moment, arranged the figure, and developed the print. The sepia tones feel like a time capsule; but they also speak to the artist’s creative decisions. The oval frame around the boy’s face softens the image. And it invites us to sympathize with him. I wonder, what was it like to be Coppens making this work? Was it a gift for the boy's family? Was it a way for Coppens to connect to his community? Did he feel seen in his own community? Photography is a conversation between image makers, between the artist, the sitter, and us, now. Each photograph adds another dimension to our understanding of the world, and what it means to be seen.