Le reflet (profile) 1860s

Editor: This is Pierre-Louis Pierson’s "Le Reflet (profile)", a photograph from the 1860s currently residing at the Met. The sepia tones give it such a dreamy, almost melancholic feel. What catches your eye when you look at this? Curator: The reflection, of course, draws me in. But beyond that, I’m struck by the quiet intensity of the little girl’s gaze. It's a captured moment of pure self-reflection, both literally and figuratively. In a way, it’s like gazing into the past. Photography, in the 1860's, still had the aura of magic. To capture a reflection? Did people then think she was somehow being duplicated? Editor: I never thought of it like that. It almost adds a layer of surrealism to it, or at least this slightly dreamlike quality to what we are seeing. The plants almost feel symbolic, somehow. Curator: I agree. What I find so touching about Romanticism, is how a mirror suddenly turns banal interior decor into a window to the soul. Is the girl looking at the possibilities? Does the double mean she can dare? We get a peek into her world, but she isn’t quite looking at us... isn't that magical? Editor: It really is. This makes me think about photography’s evolution, from this kind of intimate portrait to the Instagram era. Everything is so instant now, and feels, perhaps, less special? Curator: You know, maybe you are right, in a way that is a beautiful lament for lost magic! Editor: Exactly! I’ll certainly see portrait photography differently now. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.