Groepsportret van de familie Piek, v.l.n.r. Carel Overhof, Gesiena Piek, Louise Maria Fellinger, Hendrik Asser, Stephan Piek met onbekend kind, Carl Alexander Piek, Lucia Ottilia Piek, Cato Piek, Johanna Piek en Lucia Piek-Jolles 1891 - 1893

Willem Frederik Piek Sr. captured this group portrait of the Piek family with photography, a relatively new medium at the time. Observe the family gathered, their expressions and posture conveying a sense of unity and formality characteristic of bourgeois portraiture. The photograph's composition and the sitters’ poses evoke classical family portraiture, reminiscent of ancient Roman family iconography where lineage and continuity were paramount. Consider how this echoes in other contexts. The Madonna figure in Renaissance art, for instance, shares compositional elements with the family groupings of antiquity, both emphasizing maternal bonds and familial strength. The act of posing, the careful arrangement of figures, and the solemn expressions, reflect a deep-seated human desire to freeze time, to capture and preserve a moment of unity against the relentless flow of existence.