Groepsportret van acht onbekende vrouwen op een bordes, allen met hoed 1902 - 1912

Jules David made this photograph of eight women with hats, but we don’t know when. I love that. It’s so ambiguous. Looking at this image makes me think of painting, actually, especially grisaille. There’s a depth and complexity in the monochromatic palette, a sense of history and timelessness. Maybe they are thinking about the future, or what hats to wear. It’s hard to tell from here, but it’s like the artist, or photographer, has had a conversation with them. I imagine that the photographer, David, and the women probably had some shared knowledge and interest in clothes, poses, light, and maybe even painting, since photography was still a relatively new medium at the time. I think about how different forms of representation, like photography and painting, offer different ways of seeing and experiencing the world.