Twee prentbriefkaarten van de koninklijke wieg en een portret van koningin Wilhelmina c. 1908

Here are two postcards of the royal crib and a portrait of Queen Wilhelmina, made by an anonymous artist. What’s interesting to me is the use of photography here. It's not painting, but still. I can imagine the artist wanting to capture something very particular in these photographs - the innocence of infancy but also the weight of royal expectation. The artist is working with light and shadow, trying to reveal something about their subject, whether it be an object or a person. Thinking about the portrait of Queen Wilhelmina, it makes me think about those portraits made by artists like Alice Neel. It’s a tradition really. There is something vulnerable but powerful in the Queen’s gaze. Maybe it's not paint, but all artists are in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas, inspiring one another’s creativity, whatever the medium. There is always something to learn.