Portret van een jongen 1890 - 1920

This is a portrait of a young boy made by Atelier Moderne, though we don’t know exactly when. I can’t help but notice the tonal range, and how the shades of grey evoke a sense of nostalgia, the kind you get when looking through old family albums. The photo has a certain material quality. The surface is soft, almost velvety, and the light seems to catch the edges of the frame. It is an intimate image, and I’m drawn to the boy's eyes. There’s a directness in his gaze, an openness that invites you in. It reminds me a little of some of Alice Neel’s portraits, in that they both seem to capture something essential about the person, a vulnerability and an honesty that transcends the surface. Art, like life, is never fixed or settled.