Portret van een onbekende vrouw en een kind before 1901

Virginia M. Prall made this black and white photograph titled, *Portret van een onbekende vrouw en een kind.* It’s a small image, printed in an oval shape on the right-hand page of an open book. The soft greys and blacks almost look like pencil. In terms of process, the oval shape is striking. It’s very deliberate, carefully framing the woman and child. It creates a sense of intimacy. They're anonymous, just "mother and child" as the inscription reads. But this simple, loving embrace becomes monumental because of the composition. Look at how the head of the child nestles just under the mother's chin. It’s all so tender. It reminds me of the photography of Gertrude Kasebier. Both artists are working at the turn of the century. Both are pioneering a softer, more painterly photographic style. Both are reminding us that art can be found in the everyday. The beauty of the image lives in its ambiguity and the feeling it evokes.