Portret van vier onbekende kinderen, vermoedelijk gerelateerd aan de familie Marmelstein c. 1888 - 1930

Curator: Good afternoon. Today, we’re looking at a photograph held here at the Rijksmuseum, “Portrait of Four Unknown Children, presumably related to the Marmelstein Family,” captured sometime between 1888 and 1930 by Friedrich Carel Hisgen. It’s rather striking, isn't it? Editor: Haunting, almost. They look like little adults. Stiff and formal, despite their obvious youth. And yet, there's a softness in the rendering that keeps pulling me in. Curator: Absolutely, that's Hisgen’s mastery. Notice how he arranged them. The subtle gradations in their height, seated on those matching benches against the backdrop. A perfect demonstration of balance. Editor: I am getting caught in that background too; what's going on there? I wonder about the trees… sort of like they’re imprisoned by their costumes! Or, I suppose, imprisoned by the family that wants them documented forever in black and white! What an odd moment frozen. Curator: Precisely! The deliberate framing, the strategic use of light and shadow. I love the material qualities here, and also think this points to the rise of portrait photography at the turn of the century, capturing likenesses affordably, democratizing the family portrait. Editor: Affordably, but maybe not accessibly… there's a kind of uniformity here I can't shake; a somber repetition I sense… the artist seems so restrained somehow. But it’s arresting, definitely thought-provoking. A photograph can, in a flash, sum up our attitudes, and then we move on, into a brand-new attitude, hopefully one with sunshine! Curator: Agreed! We're left to ponder those unspoken narratives and formal strategies that make this work resonate so deeply. Editor: Indeed! Each time I see it, I find myself questioning… Are they going to remember me? Which is how art works, if you do it right…