Groepsportret van vijf onbekende vrouwen met hoeden en wandelstokken c. 1900 - 1915

This photograph, "Groepsportret van vijf onbekende vrouwen met hoeden en wandelstokken", was taken by Atelier Victoria sometime in the late 19th, early 20th century. These women are all lined up, each holding a walking stick. Look at the backdrop, the painterly scene seems almost dreamy. The composition is simple, yet striking. It's as if each woman is stepping forward in a line. What were they like, these five women? Did they all know one another? It’s easy to imagine the artist arranging the scene, adjusting the light, and asking them to keep still, capturing a moment in time. Photographs such as these were an emerging art form. And like paintings, can be both posed and candid. This one exudes a quiet elegance, capturing something about being a woman at the time. It makes me wonder about the evolution of portraiture and how artists, like these photographers, have always been in conversation.