Portret van twee onbekende vrouwen c. 1882 - 1922

This photograph of two unknown women was taken by H.C. de Graaff, and I’m immediately drawn to the sepia tones and the softness of the light. I wonder what it was like for the women to sit for this portrait, and what the photographer might have been thinking, too. I can imagine how De Graff may have waited patiently for the perfect moment to capture their expressions. The woman standing on the left has a certain strength, and the woman seated on the right seems gentle, their faces telling a story of their own. The women's clothes are amazing, and the whole scene has a lovely, nostalgic quality. The level of detail is fascinating, too. The whole composition is just gorgeous. It reminds me of other portraits from that era, when photography was still a relatively new art form, and photographers were experimenting with different techniques to capture the essence of their subjects. It is as if, across time, De Graaff is inviting us to look closer, to imagine, and to feel.