The photograph titled “The Tender Touch,” captured by artist Andre Kertesz in 1915, depicts an intimate moment between two individuals. In the black-and-white image, a soldier appears to gently touch the hand or wrist of a woman. The setting is an outdoor landscape with a rolling hill in the background. Both subjects are clothed in attire that suggests a past era: the soldier wears a military uniform with a peaked cap, and the woman dons a dress with a patterned skirt and a headscarf that obscures her hair and face, emphasizing the time period the photo represents.
As for the image itself, the photograph has a poignant, candid quality to it, with a sense of tenderness conveyed through the soldier’s gesture. The woman’s posture is demure, turned slightly away from the camera, adding to the intimate and private feel of the exchange. The composition and lighting of the photo are reflective of early 20th-century photographic techniques, providing a snapshot into a moment of personal connection amidst a time that was likely marked by the turmoil of World War I.
