Tiny Kleiterp op een paard dat wordt vastgehouden door een Javaanse man te Batoedjadjar 1924

Klaas Kleiterp made this photograph of a small child on horseback sometime in the first half of the twentieth century. I love the casualness of the shot, the quietness of the little girl with the giant bow in her hair. I imagine Kleiterp, a Dutch artist living in the Dutch East Indies, wanted to capture a sweet moment, but also something about this particular place. It feels hot and lush, even in black and white, with the dense tropical growth blurring in the background. Look how the horse and the man holding the reins are cropped, as if only partially there; it makes the kid the total focus. And you can tell that Kleiterp has a good eye. He frames the child in a way that makes her look both vulnerable and powerful, a tiny ruler on her steed. This photo's a reminder that every artist, whether they’re wielding a brush or a camera, brings their own way of seeing the world to the work. The dialogue just keeps building across time.