Portret van een onbekende vrouw 1900 - 1914

This “Portret van een onbekende vrouw” was produced as a Carte de Visite by the Watson Brothers. The sepia tones and diffused lighting of this image give it an ethereal quality. The way the light catches the lace collar and the subtle gradations in the background, it reminds me of Gerhard Richter's blurred photographs, where the focus is less on capturing a likeness and more on evoking a mood. Check out how the lace collar is meticulously rendered, but then dissolves into soft focus—a tension between precision and abstraction. This detail is really interesting, it's like the Watson Brothers are trying to have it both ways, a clear representation of their subject and this sense of something dreamlike and intangible. This photograph offers a glimpse into another time, but its ambiguity keeps it fresh and open to interpretation. Just like a painting, there are many ways of seeing and feeling that are all valid and interesting.