Portret van een man in uniform en jongen 1890 - 1920

This photographic portrait of a man in uniform and a young boy was created at Bayley's Studios, a London-based photography studio. The sepia tones create a soft, almost dreamlike quality, but the figures are rigid, formal. It is an interesting way of playing with a medium, photography, that is usually used to freeze a moment in time. Look at the way the light catches the man's buttons and insignia, highlighting his status and the boy's polished shoes. These small details speak volumes about the values and expectations of the time. I wonder what the relationship between them was? The composition is simple, yet the formality reminds me a bit of some of the early portrait painters like Hans Holbein. Although separated by centuries and medium, both capture something essential about the human condition. Both leave you wondering about the world that went on outside the frame. It is in these strange conversations that history is preserved, not just in factual representation but in feeling.