Portret van een onbekende vrouw 1903

This small portrait of an unknown woman, probably a photograph, was created by P.H. Kouw. The grey, black and white palette create an intimacy to the image. I wonder what it was like to be P.H. Kouw creating this work. It has that melancholic feeling to it, doesn’t it? Like, she’s come into the studio, nervous and uncertain of how she's going to be captured. I imagine the artist is trying to reassure her while also trying to capture something essential about her. It has a kind of vulnerability, and an element of performance. What I love about this image is how the photographer has approached a fairly ordinary portrait in a way that suggests painting. In that sense he is in conversation with all the portrait artists, throughout history. What does it mean to capture a likeness? What is it like to be on either side of the lens? This image opens up that ambiguity.