Prentbriefkaart met een portret van koningin Wilhelmina in Friese klederdracht en prins Hendrik in marine-uniform 1901 - 1905

This postcard shows Queen Wilhelmina in Friesian costume and Prince Hendrik in naval uniform, it’s by Idanus Hendrikus Slaterus. Looking at this image, I can see a very formal black and white portrait, almost like an official document. I wonder about Slaterus, though; was he trying to capture something more intimate, a quiet moment between the royals? When I look at their outfits I see the weight of tradition in the formal attire, but, like, what would it be like to wear that every day? Probably heavy, right? I can feel the weight of responsibility, the layers of expectation. I wonder, too, about the conversation between photography and painting, or, indeed, collage, at this time. Photography freed painting to take on new forms of representation, but also created new subjects. Painters are always in conversation, and I wonder who Slaterus was looking at when he made this postcard? What traditions was he responding to, pushing against, or embracing?