Portret van een jonge vrouw, aangeduid als Alida 1907

This is a portrait of a young woman, possibly named Alida, by Bakker & Slier. It’s intimate, contained, a little world of its own. I wonder what Alida was thinking when the camera captured her likeness. Was she shy, excited, or just bored waiting for the moment to pass? The gray tones create a subdued atmosphere, but the light is beautiful. It softly illuminates her face, highlighting the details of her features. Her expression feels direct but also a little inscrutable. I think about the exchange between painter and sitter, the act of looking and being looked at, of capturing a likeness and somehow also capturing a soul. There’s an ongoing conversation that exists between artists across time. We’re all just trying to figure out what it means to be human, what it means to see and be seen.