Portret van Marie Battinga 1902 - 1906

This is a photograph, "Portret van Marie Battinga," by Stephanus Adrianus Schotel. It's a small thing, just over 10 centimeters high, so maybe it was a personal memento, something kept close. I imagine Schotel, in his studio, carefully composing the shot. The grey tones feel soft, considered. I wonder about Marie. There's a quietness to her expression, a certain composure. Her blouse, with its lace collar, suggests a particular time. You can see him adjusting the lighting, trying to capture something essential about her. There's such a different feel to working with photographic chemicals versus paint. It is still about capturing light on a surface, and how an image comes to life. It's a collaboration, I imagine, between photographer and sitter. Painters and photographers have always been in conversation, pushing and pulling at the boundaries of representation. And whether it’s a photograph or a painting, both offer us a way to pause, to really look, and to consider the person before us.