Portret van Antonina Levissa Rijsdijk-Den Hollander, deelnemer aan een cursus van de Koloniale School voor Meisjes en Vrouwen te 's-Gravenhage c. 1949

Wouter Dijkstra made this photograph of Antonina Levissa Rijsdijk-Den Hollander, a student at the Colonial School for Girls and Women in The Hague, sometime in the first half of the 20th century. The charm of the photo lies in its play with light and shadow. It’s a game of nuances. Look at how the light catches the curls of her hair, each strand defined with subtle gradations of tone. The whole thing is so soft, almost dreamlike. There’s a certain vulnerability to it, something that makes you feel like you're looking into a very specific moment in time. In a way, portraiture is a conversation between the artist and the sitter and, indirectly, with us. Dijkstra’s work reminds me of the quiet intensity of early photographers like Julia Margaret Cameron, who also sought to capture something beyond the surface. Ultimately, art isn’t just about what we see, but what we feel and how we connect.