Portret van een jonge vrouw 1891 - 1914

Jean Günther made this portrait of a young woman, a photograph, sometime around the turn of the century, though the exact date is unknown. It's the kind of sepia tone that just oozes nostalgia. The image itself is quite small, almost like a miniature. Look closely at the way her hair is softly rendered. It's like a whisper of dark against the pale background. It reminds me that art is a process of revealing and concealing, of showing just enough to let the viewer fill in the gaps. I keep thinking about the fact that this is a portrait of a young woman. It feels like a conversation across time, a question posed to us about who she was, what she dreamed of, and how we see her now. Like the work of Gertrude Käsebier who was working at the same time, this image holds onto its secrets, offering us a glimpse but never a full understanding.