Vier foto's van Loentje en Willy Onnen met de kinderen Mohr en Uhlenbeck, en portret van een man, Hilversum 1909

Editor: This gelatin-silver print from 1909, titled "Vier foto's van Loentje en Willy Onnen met de kinderen Mohr en Uhlenbeck, en portret van een man, Hilversum," feels like a window into a past I can't quite grasp. I'm especially drawn to the bottom-left portrait—the sitter is surrounded by other artworks. What catches your eye in these images? Curator: My interest lies primarily in the formal relations within and between each of the four photographic groupings. Note, first, the contrast between the tightly controlled studio portrait, and the groupings that are arguably much less contrived. The composition across all four strikes me with a remarkable symmetry – consider the subtle tonal gradations moving vertically, which unify the collection. Can you see this too? Editor: Yes, I notice the groupings that emphasize balance, but the effect, I find, isn't of careful calculation, but of spontaneous compositions, which perhaps reflects the casual snapshot aesthetic of the time. But you seem to focus a lot on structure and material make-up… How important are the subjects or the context when analyzing it? Curator: Whilst the figures may draw initial attention, a formalist approach is most concerned with the internal structure. How does the photographer use light and shadow, line, and form, within the inherent limitations of a monochrome print to communicate meaning, or feeling? These photographic ‘constraints’ are tools in the articulation of feeling, note that the limitations dictate artistic expression. Editor: So you're saying the lack of color becomes its own form of expression here. I never thought of it that way. It's amazing how much you can discover by looking closely at the elements within the frame, instead of what’s happening outside of it! Curator: Exactly. Understanding the interplay of artistic tools illuminates aspects missed through external narratives.