Vertrek van één van de Nederlanders voor een operatie 1903 - 1913

This photograph, of a Dutchman leaving for surgery, made by an anonymous photographer, is modest in size but vast in what it evokes. I wonder about the moment this photo was taken, what it felt like to be this person departing, about to undergo surgery. There’s something brave, and sad, in the faces of those looking on. Maybe the landscape itself is trying to tell us something about the situation? The way the grassy hill rises, or the arrangement of the trees? What was the photographer thinking? It’s a quiet, grey day, with many subtle tones – a simple composition, but it conveys so much. There's a whole story here, a collaboration between the photographer, the person departing, and the community they were part of. This simple scene gives us a sense of human experience, a moment of connection.