Portret van een vrouw met twee kinderen in Volendamse klederdracht c. 1900 - 1910

This is a photograph by G. Hidderley of a woman and two children in Volendam, and though we don’t know exactly when it was made, it has a hazy, dreamy quality, like an image emerging out of time itself. I can imagine Hidderley carefully arranging the subjects, paying close attention to the way light plays across their traditional clothing. It’s there in the details: the crispness of the children’s bonnets, the gentle folds of their dresses. The palette is muted, almost monochromatic. Think of those Dutch interiors, how light and shadow can create a mood of quiet contemplation, and I start to think of other painters who were interested in the everyday like Vuillard or Bonnard. In this small photograph, the artist captures a fleeting moment, but invites us to reflect on the enduring themes of motherhood, tradition, and the passage of time. It’s like a quiet conversation with the past.