Groepsportret van (vermoedelijk) een studentengenootschap tijdens een diner c. 1895 - 1910

Nicolaas Schuitvlot made this photograph of what we think is a student society at dinner, but we don't know when. It’s a scene caught in sepia tones, where the marks aren't made by brushstrokes, but by light itself, a chemical reaction. I’m drawn to the textures here: the sheen of the chandelier, the crisp white tablecloth, and the faces of the men, some blurred into soft focus, others sharp. Look at the man in the center, holding a plate above his head. Is he about to drop it? The image asks questions but doesn't give any definite answers, and I enjoy that ambiguity. The photographic process makes the faces so real. Photographs like this one always remind me of paintings. Maybe because they capture a moment in time, or because they are both about representation. The artist could have chosen to crop tighter or looser, giving us a different feel for the image. The history of art is a conversation, an ongoing experiment, and photographs such as this one remind us of the many possibilities.