Portrait of Lise Jordan

1891

Around 1885, photography changed in a major way. New, portable handheld cameras made photography more immediate and spontaneous. Willem Witsen was inspired by the new possibilities when he took closeup photographs of the upcoming Dutch literary and artistic set known as the Tachtigers with their muses and models. In this portrait, artist’s model Lise Jordan is staring straight into the lens. Her face occupies the whole frame.