Vijf militairen 1941 - 1945

This small black and white photograph, entitled ‘Five Soldiers,’ was made by an anonymous photographer. It feels like a very old, yet familiar scene. The image contains an immense amount of quiet feeling. In an odd way, it reminds me of my process as a painter. The artist might have been trying to capture a moment that speaks to the human condition—longing, melancholy, or maybe just the everydayness of the world. You can almost feel the texture of the soldiers’ clothes. It’s not about perfection, but about capturing the essence of these figures in a specific time and place. It echoes the work of photographers like Lisette Model, who found beauty in the everyday and the imperfect. I can imagine her looking at this image and feeling a kindred spirit.