Portret van een lokale familie in de Harz c. 1903 - 1908

This photograph, taken by Geldolph Adriaan Kessler, captures a local family in the Harz region. Look at the way the figures are arranged, almost like a classical composition. I wonder what it was like to be Kessler, setting up this shot. Did he feel like an intruder, capturing a moment in these people’s lives? Or did he see himself as preserving something, documenting a way of life that was already fading? The soft, sepia tones create a dreamlike quality, blurring the line between past and present. The textures are incredible – the rough wood of the fence, the soft fabric of their dresses. Each detail invites us to consider the lives and experiences of these people, and to think about what binds us across time and culture. Artists are always in conversation with one another, taking inspiration and pushing boundaries. This photograph reminds us that art is not just about aesthetics, but about connection, empathy, and the ongoing exploration of what it means to be human.