Portret van P.H. Enkelaar, kruidenier aan de Bemuurde Weerd in Utrecht 1901 - 1910

Here's a photograph of P.H. Enkelaar, a grocer from Utrecht, taken by Anton Cornelis Thomann. I’m thinking about the moment Thomann took this shot. I can imagine him carefully composing the scene, arranging Enkelaar just so, maybe adjusting his hat or the way he holds his cane. I wonder what they talked about, what the atmosphere was like. There is a realness to this image, a stillness. Thomann has this amazing way of capturing the details—the texture of the suit, the way the light catches the edge of Enkelaar’s hat, the look in his eyes. You can almost feel the weight of that cane in his hand, see the patience in his posture. It is so interesting for me as an artist to see how other artists from different times approach the same problems of representation. What can we learn from each other through time?