Arthur Moos met sabel in het uniform van het Duitse leger, met het IJzeren Kruis op de borst, gezeten op een stoelleuning, december 1914 1914

This sepia photograph was taken in December 1914 by Hermann Brandseph, and features Arthur Moos in German military uniform. It's a portrait, but there's something very vulnerable about it, you know? I look at this image and I imagine Brandseph setting up his camera, carefully arranging the lighting, asking Moos to sit just so on that chair back. It’s like he’s teetering, precariously perched on the edge of something. Maybe that’s what war felt like? I think about what Brandseph might have been thinking as he captured this moment. Did he know what the future held for Moos? Did he see the weight of the world in his eyes? There's such a delicate balance between capturing a likeness and revealing something deeper. Brandseph's photograph reminds me that every portrait is a collaboration, an exchange between artist and subject. And it's also an exchange between the past and the future, inviting us to reflect on our shared humanity across time.