Portret van een man en twee kinderen 1899 - 1920

H. Walters made this small portrait of a man and two children, possibly around the turn of the 20th century, using photographic techniques. The sepia tones, right, they're not just colors, they're a mood, a memory. Look at the stern face of the older child - that face feels like it comes straight out of an Alice Neel painting. The composition is formal, right? Father centered, children at his side. But there’s a softness too, in the way the light falls, in the backdrop suggesting a park. It's like Walters was trying to catch a moment, a real connection, even within the stiffness of a formal portrait. And you see how the photograph has been mounted, with decorative leaf patterns in gold? That border, like a gilded cage, it adds another layer, highlighting the image, and perhaps, trapping its subjects within the past. It reminds me a little of Man Ray's use of photography to immortalise the surreal. This little picture, it's not just a record, it's a story, one that keeps changing each time we look.