Portret van Ferdinand von Zeppelin before 1917

This photograph is an anonymous portrait of Ferdinand von Zeppelin. What strikes me is how the tones are used, the greys almost like soft charcoal. It’s like the photo is a drawing. Look at his mustache. It’s a perfect swirl of white, the focal point of the piece. It's almost comical, like a cartoon villain, but the eyes suggest something more somber. The artist allows the light to fall in such a way that the details of his face are emphasized, the wrinkles and folds of skin betraying his age. Like many portraits, it's as much about the person as it is about the process of seeing. I’m reminded of Gerhard Richter’s grey portraits, those fuzzy photographs of historical figures. There’s an openness, a refusal to define this man. Art invites us to look, to feel, and to question, without needing all the answers.