Vrienden van Loentje Onnen en een gezicht op de villa Elwin in Den Haag 1912

Carolina (Loentje) Frederika Onnen created this collection of snapshots of friends and places in Den Haag in the early 20th century. Looking at this album page, I see Loentje and her pals. She's caught them in the midst of their everyday lives, so relaxed and natural. I wonder what Loentje was thinking as she snapped these pictures. The composition feels so casual, not self-conscious at all. She's just documenting her world. This feels so different from posed studio shots. It’s like she's capturing the essence of these people and places, not just their likenesses. As a painter, I'm always thinking about how we see, and how we record what we see. Loentje’s work makes me consider the relationship between painting and photography. While a painting is made slowly, through observation and careful construction, a photograph captures a fleeting moment, preserving it for eternity. Both are essential forms of mark making. And it reminds me that all artists are essentially in conversation with one another, building on the ideas of those who came before them.