Officier 1940 - 1943

This is a black and white photograph of an officer, part of an album at the Rijksmuseum, made by an anonymous artist. I really want to know the story behind this particular image. Here’s what I imagine: the light is overexposed, and the image is almost bleached out and faded. The officer is standing on what seems like a rooftop. Was he proud to serve? And what was he thinking at that exact moment? I feel such a sense of sadness and melancholy here. It’s a photograph that is both very precise and very ambiguous, and it reminds me that the history of painting, and artmaking in general, has always embraced uncertainty. There is a powerful emotional charge when we give up fixed positions and certainties in favour of a more open-ended position. It is that openness that keeps the creative spirit alive, inviting us to contemplate our place in the world and to dream of new possibilities.