Portret van Bertha Temmink 1860 - 1877

Curator: So, here we have a photograph, a gelatin-silver print titled "Portret van Bertha Temmink." It was captured sometime between 1860 and 1877 and resides here at the Rijksmuseum. The artist behind this intimate portrait is Bernardus Bruining. Editor: My initial feeling? Melancholy. She gazes out with such stillness. It's an arresting image. The oval frame makes it feel like a jewel, or some precious artifact rescued from another era. Curator: Absolutely. The oval format was very popular then. Framing the subject's face this way concentrates attention on her expression, that pensiveness you sensed. It’s interesting to think about the impact of such formal presentation. It elevates the sitter. Editor: Definitely, especially when considered as symbol. The oval could symbolize wholeness, potential even. But given the limitations placed on women at the time, and the general Victorian seriousness, maybe also confinement and restriction. I keep wondering what Bertha's dreams were, if they matched what was expected of her. Curator: A great question. In photographic portraits, costume becomes a character. She wears earrings, a ribboned and ruffled lace collar that seem at odds with the relative informality of her hair which perhaps shows something more rebellious of her true nature? I wonder what we’d find digging into social customs of the day. Editor: Precisely. Symbols like these have so many layers and offer us the freedom to project our own interpretations while studying historical meaning. Consider, that by today's standards the bare-facedness is remarkable. No makeup seems almost an act of honesty, yet one wonders whether some gentle adornment may not have been welcomed. It humanises her in a striking way! Curator: I hadn't considered the relative bareness, compared to how many sitters dolled themselves up. What remains, I suppose, are traces of what society required and this single glimpse into her potential thoughts. A real-life face, and it will never look quite the same. It makes you pause to consider everything lost. Editor: A ghostly image with reverberating mysteries. It definitely holds me still. And a glimpse into all the unknown lives contained within an archive of historical objects!