Koningin Emma, prinses van Waldeck-Pyrmont. Weduwe van koning Willem III 1918

Curator: This is Jan Veth's 1918 painting of Queen Emma, princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont. It's an oil-on-canvas piece using a gorgeous impasto technique. What catches your eye first? Editor: There's an inescapable stillness. She feels both present and somehow deeply, fundamentally absent. Curator: Yes, it's a study in composure. The Queen's gaze is steady, but there is a fragility in the gentle touch of her hand on the chair. Given it was painted 28 years after becoming Queen regent, it captures a moment of, perhaps, poignant reflection on the weight of duty. The delicate lace almost dissolves into her dark dress, creating a contrast between grandeur and intimacy. Editor: That interplay is really powerful. As a woman, as a queen, as a regent, her life must have been dictated by ceremony. I see those fine details in the context of late-stage empire, and the tension inherent to representation within such structures becomes almost unbearable. I notice, too, that Veth has not glossed over the inevitable aging of her features. Curator: It is quite arresting. This directness and the use of muted colours, so different from other official royal portraits. It hints at vulnerability. Perhaps this was a more honest glimpse into the Queen's inner world, her personal reality as a widow, as a woman, as a mother, a private face revealed only toward the end of a life dedicated to duty and performance. I wonder, did he see beyond the crown? Editor: I imagine so. There is definitely an aura of something deeper, a complex portrait of a woman negotiating not only public life, but the shifting tectonic plates of gender, power, and representation at the turn of the century. And that comes through more powerfully than any simple image of royalty ever could. Curator: It gives one much to consider about appearances. What is performance and what is genuinely there? Editor: Indeed. What does the artwork let us see versus what we expect to find? An endless push and pull.