Portret van twee meisjes en een jongen in klederdracht 1896 - 1920

This photographic portrait of two girls and a boy in traditional dress was made by C.V. Roikjer, and it's interesting to think about how they approached the making of the picture. Looking closely, I notice how the figures are arranged, almost posed, against a backdrop that seems both real and staged. The way the light falls feels very deliberate. This is like painting, isn’t it, deciding how to frame something? How to pose your subject? You know, where to put the fence. The nuances of tone capture the textures of the clothing and the landscape. There's a softness to the image that reminds me of early photography. It’s like the image is trying to capture a fleeting moment, an instant of time, but also something timeless about tradition. It makes me think of other artists who worked with photography to capture people in their traditional clothes, like August Sander. But while Sander was more interested in capturing archetypes, this feels more personal, like a family photo. It’s that tension between the universal and the particular that makes art so interesting, right?