Portret van een onbekend kind in matrozenpak 1900 - 1915

Jean Baptiste Feilner made this photograph, 'Portret van een onbekend kind in matrozenpak', and it captures a moment, a feeling, more than just an image. The grey tones, so subtle and soft, seem to remember more than they show. Look at the child's coat, how the light catches the buttons, each one like a little world. You can almost feel the texture of the fabric, a kind of gentle invitation to touch. My eye is drawn to the child's expression, a mix of curiosity and maybe a little bit of shyness. The shadows around the eyes give such depth to the face, as if there’s a whole story hidden there. It reminds me of some of the early portraits by Julia Margaret Cameron, those dreamy, almost mystical images. It's like Feilner is reaching for something beyond the surface, into the realm of memory and feeling. With Cameron, as with Feilner, there's this idea of art as a conversation, not just across time, but between the seen and the unseen.