Old and Faded

A faded photograph of an old married couple. The picture has several scratches on it, and it must have been somewhat grainy and blurry to begin with, since the photographer has added small dark dots on the eyes to make the picture appear sharper. After over a century, the effect is quite eerie – the old woman’s eyes in particular are very piercing. Adding to the unsettling impression is the fact that the photograph will inevitably continue to fade; eventually, the dark dots that were added on it to make the gazes of this old couple more focused might be one of the last things that remain. The old couple, now unknown and unnamed, will fade out of sight and disappear – and the same will happen to all of us one day.

Unknown photographer, unknown origin. Circa 1860.