Fotoreproductie van een tekening van Leonore uit Goethe's Torquato Tasso door Wilhelm von Kaulbach 1850 - 1900

This is an anonymous photographic reproduction of a drawing by Wilhelm von Kaulbach, illustrating Leonore from Goethe's "Torquato Tasso." Consider the layers of representation here, and the absence of a known photographer. It speaks volumes about authorship, and how labor and creativity get attributed or erased. The original drawing, made by a man, depicts a female character from a play written by another man, Goethe. The drawing is then reproduced through photography by an unknown person. What are the choices made in translation from text to image, drawing to photograph? Leonore is surrounded by women, yet her gaze seems directed at Tasso, positioning her as the object of male attention. The woman seated at the bottom is placed lower than the other figures, and she seems almost isolated. There is a tension between female community and individual female experience that leaves us contemplating the roles women play.