Portret van een onbekende jongen before 1902

This little cabinet card, 'Portret van een onbekende jongen' was made by C.J. de Gilde, a photographer from The Hague. It's small, only 166 mm high and 107 mm wide. I wonder what it was like to work as a photographer at the time. What was De Gilde thinking when he made this portrait? Was he aiming to get an accurate likeness of this cute child? Or was he trying to capture a particular mood or feeling? The boy's pose is stiff, his face serious. What was going on in the young sitter’s mind? There is something so poignant about these old black and white photographs. They're a record of a time and place, but they're also a reminder of the ever-changing nature of our lives. This photograph, like the work of other photographers, is a reminder that we're all part of an ongoing conversation across time. Each artist responds to and builds upon the ideas of those who came before.