Vrouw zwevend boven een trap before 1916

Editor: Here we have Adelaide Hanscom Leeson's "Vrouw zwevend boven een trap," or "Woman Floating Above a Staircase," a gelatin silver print from before 1916. I find the dreamlike quality really captivating. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Oh, the dream! Yes. This image whispers of spiritualism and perhaps even, if we dare say it, the blossoming liberation of women at the time, swathed, ironically, in the very fabric of expectation. The woman, almost angelic, seems to defy gravity, poised between the earthly steps and the ethereal beyond. Tell me, what colours do you hear when you gaze at it? Editor: Hear? Hmm, maybe a silvery-grey and faded lavender—like old photographs smell. I guess the staircase kind of grounds her, but she’s also got this ethereal, floating vibe that gives it an otherworldly feel. Do you think Leeson was intentionally exploring ideas around femininity and freedom? Curator: I suspect she danced right on the edge! Symbolism was all the rage, and artists often used the veil and flowing robes –like what she is wearing—to portray ideas greater than one's mere flesh. The framing – the wall surrounding her – feels protective, almost like she’s in her own, private space where new rules might apply. I wonder what it must have felt to live during this time period and what rules might be holding this 'woman' back. What expectations do we have today about this photographic medium itself, eh? Editor: That's a cool thought. It makes you wonder what the staircase and the surrounding structure meant to her as symbolic features, if they really served the subject's image, or distracted from her image? Curator: Exactly! So, while we are used to snapping everything in color on our phones today, for a long period of time, images had very different meaning. The power of an image was such that women might only have a very small collection of such artworks that marked periods of transition. Editor: So fascinating, to look back and imagine its role and impact! Curator: Indeed. It leaves you floating in thought, doesn't it?