Portret van Ada Krüseman met Teddy als baby 1934 - 1937

Editor: Here we have a gelatin silver print from sometime between 1934 and 1937, titled “Portrait of Ada Krüseman with Teddy as baby.” It looks like it’s from a photo album. There’s a tenderness to the way she’s holding the baby that feels so universal. What symbols jump out at you in this image? Curator: That's a lovely observation. Looking at it as an iconographer, the most striking symbol is the Madonna and Child. Think of countless Renaissance paintings. Here, the photographic medium, its black and white tonality, contributes to a sense of timelessness. Consider how even the softness of the focus almost imbues it with a sense of dreamlike memory, something precious preserved from a fleeting moment. It's also framed, set apart on the page. What does the surrounding space signify to you? Editor: It's interesting you point that out; the Madonna imagery wasn’t what I initially thought. To me, it highlights the ordinariness of life by how simply it’s displayed in the album, and juxtaposed against a snapshot. Like a collection of memories. Curator: Precisely. The photograph, the snapshot within an album, operates as its own distinct reliquary of memory. Each photograph functions as an icon within this larger domestic context. Editor: So, in a way, it becomes a personal icon? Something of significance to the Krüseman family. Curator: Indeed. We can even see that echoed today, with digital photo albums on our phones. How fascinating it is to consider the evolution, yet fundamental continuity of the human need to capture and preserve the symbols of our lives! Editor: That's definitely a fresh way of seeing family photos; I'll never look at my albums the same way. Curator: I am glad. These symbols truly allow us to have an entrypoint to the past.