Portret van twee kinderen 1901 - 1960

Curator: Here we see L.B.J. Serré's photographic portrait, simply titled "Portrait of Two Children", placing it somewhere between 1901 and 1960. Editor: It’s charming! And a little…haunted. Something about their eyes. They’re not looking at the camera, more like they're peering out at something we can't see. Curator: The direct gaze was less common then, I think. What’s more relevant is to consider the studio setting; a space of manufactured intimacy where subjects donned specific clothing. Notice the white dresses. Garments worn specifically for portraiture became commodities, part of the spectacle of constructing familial memory. Editor: Absolutely, it's staged, and they do look like little dolls in those frilly white dresses, perched on that elaborate chair. There is lace everywhere! Curator: And note the implicit labour involved, too. Both the actual physical work to make these clothes, or maybe even rented by the hour. In the meantime, their holding of hands is just cute; in any case it gives this a sweet tone. Editor: Right! And isn't photography magical like that? Taking these ghostly remnants of life. But looking at this makes you question what happened to these siblings: Were they friends? Did one become more successful? Where did they go and what was their impression? Curator: Those personal projections are key to photographic portraiture, yes. These details act as markers, signaling a set of period norms and photographic techniques. The way their image and status were preserved. Editor: It all makes you reflect how fragile and how lucky some children in our environment may be at a given time, which seems impossible sometimes. I do like to imagine stories with this portrait: perhaps about family struggles, but more about simple affection and care. Curator: So you feel, thinking back about production of materials like lace in clothing in that timeframe, there is more tenderness in taking these things into account for our experience. Editor: Perhaps. I am grateful I have witnessed and appreciated this old memory.