Portret van Jeanne Enkelaar, echtgenote van G.N.P. van Eijk 1910 - 1920

This is a portrait of Jeanne Enkelaar, wife of G.N.P. van Eijk, by Anton Cornelis Thomann. The sepia tones and sharp details feel so historical, yet immediate. I imagine Thomann carefully setting up the shot, adjusting the light just so, coaxing his sitter into a relaxed pose, just like the one you or I would adopt when wanting to look reflective. What was she thinking about, I wonder? The way the light falls across her dress makes the image, and this is perhaps what made me choose it. Photography, at its heart, is about capturing light, about rendering a three-dimensional world into two dimensions through tonal variation. Thomann is clearly aware of this, making an image that is both a record of a person and a study in light. Artists are constantly inspired by each other’s practices. Each new image offers the possibility of change, where meanings become fluid, ambiguous and multiple.