Portret van een vrouw staand bij een stoel c. 1912 - 1914

This photograph, "Portret van een vrouw staand bij een stoel," was made by American Automatic Fotografie, and is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. It's got that early photo feel - sepia tones, softness around the edges, imperfections from the development process itself becoming part of the image. The surface has a kind of sheen to it, which gives depth to the image. Look at the graininess in the background, it's like an all-over mark-making. The light flares at the bottom right edge are gorgeous. It could be a mistake, or maybe the photographer was trying to create something dreamy. The woman’s hat obscures a lot of her face, creating interesting shadows and obscuring the details of her hair. The slight blur around the edges adds to that feeling of time passing, or maybe a memory fading. This photo reminds me of the work of artists like Gerhard Richter, who explore the medium of photography in their painting practice. The photograph becomes both an artwork and a record of a fleeting moment in time, open to multiple interpretations.