Portret van drie onbekende kinderen 1897 - 1920

Evert Rabbers made this photograph, “Portret van drie onbekende kinderen”, with a camera, sometime between 1875 and 1967, capturing three little kids in their frilly white dresses. I can just imagine Rabbers, peering through his lens, trying to wrangle these squirmy, probably impatient, little beings. Did he try to make them smile? Was he quick enough to capture a fleeting moment of stillness amidst the chaos of childhood? The image is so sharp, so clear. I'm wondering what it was like to be an image-maker then, before the days of digital photography. Each shot must have felt so precious, requiring skill and intention, and patience! And these kids, who are they? Do they know they were immortalized in a photograph by Rabbers? Are their relatives still around today? I feel like these are questions that will never be answered. That's the real mystery of the portrait.