Portret van een onbekende vrouw, mogelijk Irene With-Sauer 1930 - 1955

This black and white photograph, currently residing at the Rijksmuseum, captures the portrait of a woman whose identity remains a mystery. I wonder about the person behind the camera, this anonymous artist—what were they hoping to convey? The soft gradations of tone, the way light catches the sitter’s hair... I imagine they wanted to preserve a sense of familiarity. There’s a tender attention to detail here, as seen in the way the collar sits just so. The photograph is small, intimate even. It reminds me that art doesn't always need a signature to speak. Sometimes, the most profound conversations happen in silence, between the artist and the subject, and then, years later, between the artwork and us. And isn’t that what art’s all about—this ongoing exchange of ideas?