Portret van Mae Wiedoeft 1937

This small black and white photograph captures a moment of someone in a private or reflective mood. I wonder what it must have felt like to be in the photographer’s shoes, composing the scene, adjusting the light, maybe waiting for the right expression to emerge. Photography is like painting in that the artist must make decisions about what to include or exclude. The composition feels intimate. Her fur collar frames her face and draws attention to her gaze. What is she thinking? I wonder what this person was like, and what was the relationship between the photographer and sitter? We may never know the answers. But the beauty of art is how it can still speak to us, even when so much is unknown. Like a conversation across time.