Portret van een vrouw 1900 - 1910

Willy Dose created this small portrait of a woman; it’s an intimate glimpse, a fragment of someone’s life caught in monochrome. The tones here are amazing: sepia shadows with hints of silver. I’m always interested in how artists build up layers, whether with pigment or in the darkroom. There’s a kind of alchemy in the way this picture has been put together, in the way this ordinary moment has been preserved. Look at the details in the woman's dress, how the fabric almost seems to absorb the light. And then there's the soft focus around her face, like a halo. Photography is so interesting, because it's both a record and an interpretation. Dose is reminding us that every image is a construction, not just a reflection of reality. It reminds me of the work of Julia Margaret Cameron, who blurred the lines between portraiture and fine art. Art is a conversation, always.