Inzegening van het huwelijk van prinses Juliana en prins Bernhard in de St. Jacobskerk in Den Haag, 7 januari 1937 Possibly 1937

Erich Salomon snapped this photograph during the wedding of Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard in the St. Jacobskerk in The Hague on January 7, 1937. I'm always struck by how photography can capture a moment, but can never truly capture the feeling of a moment. Just look at the faces in the crowd, so proper, so composed. But what were they really thinking? Did anyone there foresee the upheavals that awaited Europe? As a painter, I'm fascinated by the layers of interpretation we bring to images like this. We project our own experiences, our own anxieties, onto these figures from the past. It’s a reminder that the act of seeing is never passive. What do we want to see? What version of history do we want to believe in? The picture doesn't tell us. And perhaps, that’s the real magic of photography; it invites us to complete the story, to find our own truth within its frame.