Isabel Wachenheimer staand voor een stoel in de woning van de familie Wachenheimer c. 1932 - 1937

This photograph, probably from the Wachenheimer family album, captures a little girl standing by a chair. It’s a small black and white print with a serrated edge, stuck into the album. I like to imagine the act of taking the picture itself. Maybe someone said "stand there", and the little girl, maybe Isabel herself, probably didn't know quite what to do with her hands. I know that feeling! How often do we feel awkward in front of the camera? She leans on the chair, and the photographer snaps the shot. I'm thinking about the surface, the material, the emulsion, the way the light and shadow play across her dress, the chair. It all suggests the passage of time. We see her, a ghost-like figure, fixed forever, but only ever present because someone noticed her in the first place. Now that is love. Now that is art.