Untitled (two portraits of woman with baby) c. 1945

Curator: This small photographic print at the Harvard Art Museums by John Deusing captures two portraits of a woman with a baby. It certainly has an unusual mood. Editor: Yes, it’s haunting, with the stark inversion of light and shadow. The composition, doubled, almost feels like a symbolic representation of duality, perhaps motherhood itself. Curator: I see the repetition more as a reflection of Victorian portraiture conventions, a desire to capture and preserve a particular social image and maternal bond. The inverted tones create a ghostly echo. Editor: But the inversion also disrupts our reading. We are compelled to look beyond the surface to grasp the underlying narratives of nurture and family, so often idealized and yet so fraught with complexity. Curator: Agreed. There is also a starkness here. The symbolic weight feels immense for such a small object. The image burns itself into memory, questioning ideas about motherhood. Editor: The stark tonal range allows for this intensity. A closer look reveals Deusing's careful rendering of texture and form, pushing the medium beyond mere representation. Curator: It's a powerful testament to the layered meanings embedded within something seemingly simple. Editor: An unnerving and compelling work.