Portret van een jonge vrouw, aangeduid als Winny 1912

Loentje Onnen made this portrait of Winny at an unknown date with an intriguing use of sepia-toned, gelatin printing on paper. I wonder about the process of this image coming into being. Was it a collaboration between the sitter and the photographer? What was Winny thinking at this moment, what was the relationship between them? The sepia tone is so beautiful here - it speaks to the history of the medium, how photography has always been in conversation with painting, how it captures something, but also transforms it. The texture of the paper almost feels like a painting in its own right. Winny's gaze is soft but direct. It's fascinating to see how artists like Onnen, working in photography, were pushing the boundaries of portraiture, anticipating so much that would come later. It makes you think about how all artists are in conversation across time, inspiring one another.