Portret van Agnes Sekerak 1938

This arresting portrait of Agnes Sekerak was made at an unknown time, by an unknown artist, likely using a camera. The monochrome palette and shallow depth of field immediately suggest a study of character, the artist clearly trying to get to something behind the surface. I'm drawn to the details: the sprigs in her hat, the soft drape of her scarf, the way her coat hangs on her frame. These details, however, are offset by the blurring of the background, the suggestion of a world outside the frame, which she is kept separate from. It feels almost staged, as if she has been placed in front of a painted backdrop. Her expression is what makes this image, though. She looks directly at us, unsmiling, confident, almost confrontational. It feels less like a posed portrait and more like a chance encounter. Compare this piece to the work of Diane Arbus, for example. Both artists share an interest in creating an intimacy with their subject. But, where Arbus's work often depicts people on the margins of society, this image seems to be more interested in the mystery of the individual. The image holds its secrets close.