Portret van een onbekende vrouw met hoed en rieten mand met eieren 1901 - 1914

This charming, sepia-toned photograph by Lettsome & Sons captures an unknown woman with a rather imposing hat holding a basket overflowing with eggs. The scene is soft, almost dreamlike. I can imagine Lettsome & Sons carefully arranging the composition, wanting to capture something real and something idealized all at once. Was the woman nervous? Did she practice her pose beforehand? There's a formality to the image but also a sense of everyday life—the eggs, the basket, the slight smile. That hat! It's so rigid and yet it sits above her soft curls. The textures—the wool of her shawl, the woven basket, the smooth eggs—make me think about the physicality of making art. It's about touch, texture, and the way materials come together to create meaning. And just like painting, photography involves a whole lot of decisions and a bit of chance.