Portret van een onbekende vrouw c. 1910 - 1920

This sepia photograph, ‘Portret van een onbekende vrouw’ by Franz Eiffert, captures an anonymous woman with a direct gaze. I wonder if this was a wet plate collodion process, where you only get one shot. You really want to get it right. I’m drawn to the gentle, almost timid expression of the unknown sitter, as well as the lighting, with its subtle tonal variations and the way it models the lace details on the sleeves. I imagine Eiffert carefully considering the composition and the model’s pose, trying to capture her likeness but also something of her inner self. Was she nervous? Was it hot under those lights? Did she know the photographer? There’s a timeless quality to this portrait, reminding me of the enduring power of images to connect us across time and space to people we will never know. It speaks to the human desire for representation and memorialization and the strange intimacy that can arise between a photographer and their subject.