Een familie in Suriname 1913 - 1930

Theodoor Brouwers captured this moment of “A Family in Suriname” sometime between 1875 and 1932, though the exact date eludes us. It’s like peering through time, isn’t it? What strikes me is the stillness, yet I can imagine the energy it took to get everyone together for this shot. There is a lot of light here, the textures of the home are muted and soft and the light, pouring in through the window, fills the room. I think of other artists, like the Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershoi, who were also obsessed with the quietude of interiors. What was Brouwers thinking, framing this scene? Was he trying to capture an ideal of domesticity, or something more intimate? Photography is such a powerful tool for looking at our world and representing it, and I'm constantly amazed by the way that Brouwers and so many other artists saw the same things. It feels like a conversation across time, each artist adding their voice to a collective understanding of what it means to be human.