Portret van Wilhelmina Gerarda Hoogendijk met haar drie kinderen c. 1900 - 1905

This small brown photograph captures Wilhelmina Gerarda Hoogendijk with her three children, and whoever took this image has made a world within a world. I wonder what it was like for the photographer to capture such an intimate moment in time; framing the image in its entirety while trying to pose his subjects naturally. The mother’s dark hat mirrors the eldest child’s in the background, creating a visual echo that draws the eye upwards. Did the children fidget? Did the mother smile before the shot was taken? I feel how the light, muted tones of the photograph lend a soft and gentle quality to the scene, like a dream. It’s the kind of image that makes me think about the passage of time, and how the simple act of taking a photo can preserve a moment forever. I can imagine many photographers taking photos just like this one, each adding their own voice to an ongoing exchange of ideas, a creative dialogue across time.