Irene With met twee onbekende personen in een tuin 1930 - 1937

This photograph captures Irene with two unknown figures in a lush garden, a scene of domesticity frozen in time. The abundance of flowers surrounding the figures hints at themes of nature, growth, and perhaps even the transient beauty of life. Consider the "hortus conclusus," or enclosed garden, a motif extending back to medieval art, often symbolizing purity, refuge, and the inner life. These gardens, seen in countless Renaissance paintings, became spaces for contemplation and private experience, much like the experience we feel in this image. But unlike those manicured spaces, here, nature sprawls, blurring the lines between the cultivated and the wild. This visual tension evokes a psychological space, a moment where the conscious control of identity gives way to the raw, untamed forces of the subconscious. The garden, like memory itself, is a space of layering, where past and present intertwine, prompting us to reflect on the cyclical nature of life and the echoes of emotions across generations.