Portret van een onbekende vrouw 1880 - 1940

This small photograph shows a portrait of an unknown woman by Hermanus Jodocus Weesing. It's one of those old photographs where the color has faded to near monochrome, and the subject is captured in a formal pose, almost like she is posing for a painting, you know? I imagine Weesing setting up his equipment, adjusting the light, and asking the woman to hold still—trying to catch something of her essence in that brief moment. It feels like an attempt to capture a real person, but also, it's so posed and artificial, which is an interesting tension. I wonder what she was thinking about while she was posing. Was she nervous, excited, or just bored? Painters learn from photography and photographers from painting, it's an ongoing conversation. And in this photo, I see the language of painting—the way the light falls, the composition, the attempt to capture a mood or feeling.