Portret van een man in kostuum met een bril, vermoedelijk J.G. Boelen c. 1913 - 1914

This photograph, *Portret van een man in kostuum met een bril, vermoedelijk J.G. Boelen*, was captured by American Automatic Fotografie. Imagine the artist behind the camera, focusing, cropping, framing, and eventually clicking. It is fascinating how the image can stop a moment forever, just like a painting. But a painting is handmade, and this photo is not. I wonder if the photographer felt the same way as a painter? Did they have to find the best angle and create the perfect light? Was the photographer trying to transmit emotions through a lens? Just like painters transmit them with gestures, brushstrokes and colours? The sitter looks so stiff, and I want to loosen him up, splash some paint on him, or maybe just mess up his hair a little. Even though this is not my art, I can still relate to it and transform it into a conversation between me and this unknown man who once stood still to be remembered. That's what art is all about, isn't it?