Portret van een vrouw met opgestoken haar en een broche c. 1895 - 1908

This is E. v.d. Kerkhoff's "Portret van een vrouw met opgestoken haar en een broche" at the Rijksmuseum, and what strikes me is the sepia tones. Imagine the artist setting up their equipment, maybe in a temporary studio, working with the sitter to get the light just right. It makes you wonder about the woman in the portrait, doesn’t it? What was she thinking as she sat for this portrait? I imagine her trying to hold still, maybe feeling a little self-conscious, hoping she looked her best. The texture of the photograph is interesting. You can almost feel the grain of the paper and see the subtle variations in tone. The soft light gives the portrait a hazy, dreamlike quality, like a memory fading with time. This piece feels like a quiet conversation with other portraitists who came before, like Nadar or Julia Margaret Cameron, but in Kerkhoff’s own voice. Artists building on each other's ideas, pushing the boundaries of what a portrait can be. It’s not just about capturing a likeness; it’s about capturing a feeling.