Ernst Weber 1902

This photographic portrait of Ernst Weber was made by Nicola Perscheid, though we don't know exactly when. Looking at this image, I imagine Perscheid carefully setting up his camera, adjusting the light, and asking his sitter to hold still. There's a formality to this portrait, a certain stiffness that feels very of its time. But there's also something deeply human in Weber's eyes, a hint of vulnerability or perhaps even curiosity. Perscheid has captured not just a likeness, but a sense of Weber's inner life. The sepia tones lend a warmth and intimacy, as if we're peering into a moment frozen in time. It reminds me that every portrait is a collaboration between artist and subject, a conversation between two souls. I wonder what Weber thought of this image, what stories it told him about himself. And I wonder what stories it tells us, now, so many years later.