Groepsportret van onbekende jonge vrouwen aan tafel in een bos of park 1900 - 1915

Pierre Weijnen made this photographic group portrait of young women, but it feels like painting. It must have been a sunny day in the park or woods. The young women are sitting at a long table, probably enjoying a picnic. I can almost hear their conversations. What was it like to arrange this shot? Did they all know each other? The way they are posed, some looking at the camera, others not, suggests a real moment captured in time, not overly staged. The sepia tones lend the scene a dreamy, nostalgic quality. It reminds me of paintings of large family gatherings, the way light filters through the trees creating soft shadows. I think the image itself is a kind of conversation, too, between light and dark, presence and absence. It feels like an open-ended question about the nature of community and memory, one that keeps unfolding with each viewing.