Portret van twee onbekende meisjes met poppen c. 1893 - 1927

Franciscus G. Lukera made this little photograph of two girls with dolls, and it’s like looking into the past. I imagine Lukera in his studio, carefully arranging his subjects. The girls stand there, maybe a little nervous, holding their dolls as if they’re extensions of themselves. The dolls, with their fixed expressions and frilly dresses, mirror the girls’ own sense of formality. It’s interesting how these dolls become stand-ins, not just for the girls themselves, but for ideas about childhood, representation, and the very act of posing. Think about how often children have been pictured with dolls throughout the history of art! The surface of the photograph has a sepia tone, which gives it a feeling of distance. But it’s also intimate, like a little world contained within the frame. It’s amazing how a small image can hold so much history and emotion, echoing through time and continuing to speak to us.