Portret van Wilhelmina en Dootje van Zijll de Jong en hun moeder Henriëtte Wassink 1934 - 1935

This is a vintage photograph of three women, titled "Portret van Wilhelmina en Dootje van Zijll de Jong en hun moeder Henriëtte Wassink," made by an anonymous artist. I'm thinking about the way the photographer chose to frame the image. Did they know these women? What was their relationship like? The placement of each figure, the slight variations in their poses, create a visual rhythm. You can imagine the photographer moving around, trying to capture a specific fleeting moment of togetherness, hoping it would last for a while. And isn't that what we are all trying to do with a camera? To create a scene that looks real. And of course, the photo is never real. It's always a performance. A construction of memory. It's like, what if the anonymous photographer has been speaking to other photographers who have also had to deal with family members who don't want to be photographed? Because making art is always a conversation with others who have also tried to make things.