Groep mannen, vrouwen en kinderen in klederdracht op de kade bij Volendam c. 1900 - 1910

This silver gelatin print shows a group of men, women, and children in traditional dress on the quay at Volendam. I love this washed out, almost melancholic palette. It feels like the memory of a place. The photograph has this wonderful grainy texture which obscures the details. Look closely at the skirts of the women standing in the middle ground; the soft folds of the material are suggested rather than precisely rendered. This gives the scene a timeless quality. The eye is drawn to the small child in the foreground. One tiny figure raises his hand as if beckoning us into the scene. There is something about this image that reminds me of the paintings of James Ensor, maybe it is the way he captured groups of anonymous figures with a similar sense of detachment. Like Ensor, Hidderley seems interested in capturing an atmosphere, an impression, rather than simply documenting a scene.