Schoolfoto ter herinnering aan het kroningsjaar van Koningin Wilhelmina 1898

Curator: Here we have a photograph by H. Sanders & Co., titled “Schoolfoto ter herinnering aan het kroningsjaar van Koningin Wilhelmina,” or “School Photo Commemorating Queen Wilhelmina's Coronation Year,” taken in 1898. Editor: It’s striking. A solemn group of children and their teacher. There's a weightiness to it, almost sepia-toned even though it is a photographic print. It feels stiff, formal. Curator: The photograph was created and disseminated during a key moment of consolidating national identity in the Netherlands. It uses the coronation of the young Queen Wilhelmina, who ascended to the throne in 1890 at the age of ten. The image actively attempts to construct and shape her image of the young queen at a time when she's really coming of age. Editor: It speaks volumes about class. The stark, unadorned clothes, the wooden shoes in the front...you can feel the texture of the worn fabrics, the hardness of the ground beneath them. The means of representing, well, a working class perhaps is a bit misleading due to its static nature. Curator: Exactly, but this photograph isn’t simply capturing reality; it's carefully crafting a message, even within genre painting. The Queen's coronation served as a unifying symbol of national pride during a time of rapid social change and emerging industrialization, which had social consequences. This commemorative image of children conveys ideas of civic duty and perhaps subtly indicates class roles for each to take, and this all has strong ideological ties. Editor: I find myself wondering about the photographer’s choice of presentation. You have this photograph set in cardboard decorated with flourishes... almost elevating it from what otherwise might be deemed merely commemorative. The materials themselves denote value. Curator: Absolutely, the coronation was strategically employed by political and economic elites to reinforce a shared national narrative. Consider who might buy such an item. Affluent, surely, to pass down memories to younger generations as a point of heritage and family legacy. Editor: Thinking about the photographer's hand here is interesting. A clear statement about the kind of society the new Queen might anticipate, even encourage. I'd even guess that it shows how an event became commercial so readily! Curator: Indeed, so we are left to consider photography, royalty, and commerce all interlocked as Wilhelmina begins her long reign. Editor: An unexpected convergence—material commemoration of queenly aspirations—within the most commonplace of educational scenes.