Twee vrouwen in een landschap met lelie en regenboog before 1916

Adelaide Hanscom Leeson made this photograph of two women in a landscape with a lily and a rainbow sometime at the beginning of the 20th century. What strikes me is its ethereal quality, something to do with the blurring around the edges, a softening which invites a dreamlike space. Look at the way that one of the women is holding what seems to be the rainbow, a playful gesture that makes the natural world malleable, open to touch. It's this interaction with nature that defines the image and gives it a certain tenderness. The grayscale palette focuses our attention on the texture of their gowns, how they appear to float and billow, almost as if they are an extension of the rainbow. It brings to mind the work of Julia Margaret Cameron, another photographer interested in softness and the staging of allegorical scenes. But while Cameron’s work can feel quite posed, there is something informal about this, like we’ve caught a glimpse of a private moment. Ultimately, the meaning remains open, but it’s this ambiguity which makes it so evocative.