Portret van een echtpaar 1897 - 1913

This is a portrait of a couple by Antoine van Horenbeeck. It’s hard to know exactly when it was made, or with what materials, but it has that kind of dreamy, faded feeling that old photographs often do. What strikes me is the way they are framed – not just within the decorative border, but also by the soft, vignetted edges of the image itself. It's as though they're emerging from a mist, their figures rendered with subtle gradations of tone. There’s a smudge on the man's shoulder, a spot or scratch, which feels like an accidental mark that time has inscribed onto the image. It’s a reminder of the physical nature of the photograph. Thinking about the idea of framing makes me think of Félix Vallotton, who made woodcut prints which did a similar thing. There's something about the way a frame can isolate and elevate a subject that makes you think about who we choose to remember and how. Art's always a kind of conversation, isn't it? Always reaching back and forward.