Portret van een onbekende vrouw met een baby c. 1895 - 1908

This photograph of a woman with a baby was taken by E. v.d. Kerkhoff. What might it have been like to be a photographer in that time? I mean, imagine the technical constraints and the creative possibilities. You get one shot! So much pressure! The sepia tones give it a soft, dreamy feeling, like a memory half-forgotten. But the expressions, the mother's gentle gaze, the baby's tiny feet, are pretty direct. You just know that the photographer was trying to capture something essential about human connection, even if the subjects were strangers. I bet Kerkhoff was inspired by other photographers and artists who came before, each one building on the other's work, pushing the boundaries a little further. And now, we get to look at this image and add our own layer of interpretation, based on our own experiences and feelings. Isn’t art amazing?