Portret van een jonge vrouw 1886 - 1900

Editor: We’re looking at a gelatin silver print, "Portret van een jonge vrouw" – Portrait of a Young Woman – attributed to Michel Berthaud, dating from around 1886 to 1900. There’s something haunting and intensely personal about it... what do you see when you look at her? Curator: I see a young woman poised on the precipice of adulthood, gazing just beyond our view, lost in contemplation or perhaps longing. Her features are soft, yet her expression holds a certain strength, wouldn’t you say? The simple composition – that oval portrait format, almost a cameo – focuses all the attention on her face and bearing. It’s a snapshot into a fleeting moment. Tell me, what do you think she is thinking? Editor: Hmm, that's interesting... Contemplation, for sure! I'm wondering about her collar and small pendant. Those accessories, almost like badges of some kind. It does prompt a very different mood when seen through this lens. I am struck at how different it seems from a photograph today. Curator: Exactly! Fashion could speak volumes. And compare the formality to the selfies we take every day – worlds apart! In some ways, each photograph from the past holds the weight of a lost world. The artist Berthoud has certainly captured that sentiment beautifully. Does knowing that influence your reading? Editor: Absolutely. Thinking of her world… Her constraints and dreams… It's deeply moving. Thanks! Curator: And thank you! Now, I will look at photographs in a different light too. A true dialogue!