Portret van een onbekende vrouw before 1901

This silvery gelatin print of an unknown woman was made by Edward Steichen. I love the way the highlights glow, almost like she’s emerging from the shadows. It feels like the photographic process is a kind of painting, manipulating light like layers of pigment. There’s a soft, almost blurry quality, particularly around her face. The way the dark tones gather around her, it's like the darkness itself is another layer. This builds a sense of mystery, she's unknowable, yet her gaze feels very present, meeting ours directly. The tonal range is beautiful, like a hushed conversation between light and shadow, which is what good photographs always do. It reminds me a little of those Whistler nocturnes, where the city lights become abstracted into pools of color. Looking at this image, I’m reminded that art is always a conversation, a dance between the seen and unseen, the known and unknown. We bring our own gaze to meet hers, creating a new story each time we look.