Portret van Johanna Geertruida van der Waals 1910 - 1940

This is a vintage photograph, a portrait of Johanna Geertruida van der Waals, made by an anonymous photographer. Photography as a medium is, of course, all about making. The photographer has to be so precise with the lighting, and timing of the exposure. The tools and processes would have been quite different than those we use today. The sepia tone of the photo indicates a moment in the history of the medium, when it was coming into its own as a technology and an art. But we should also remember how important images like this were to people at the time, and how valuable they are as historical documents of specific individuals. While we don't know who took this, or exactly when, it’s worth remembering that photography has always depended on both technology and the anonymous labor that supports it. The making of this small portrait is more than just a charming image; it’s a point of intersection between social history, technological change, and the ongoing need to make images of ourselves and others.