Groep vrouwen en een man op een feest in de open lucht before 1903

This image, made by Nicola Perscheid, shows a group of women and a man at an open-air party, captured in a gelatin silver print. The entire scene is bathed in a soft, diffused light, which, for me, immediately sets a dreamy, almost ethereal tone. There’s a real contrast between the clarity of the figures in the foreground and the hazy, indistinct shapes that fade into the background. Look at how the faces are defined just enough to hint at expression, yet the details of their clothing dissolve into swathes of dark and light. This focus and lack of focus creates a sense of depth but also of mystery. Perscheid’s work, like that of his contemporary Gertrude Käsebier, often explored themes of identity and social interaction. Both artists seemed to be interested in how photography could be used not just to record but to interpret and reimagine reality. They remind us that art is not just about what we see, but about how we see it.