Portret van Wilhelmina, koningin der Nederlanden 1901

Here is a portrait of Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands, made by Wegner & Mottu in Amsterdam. It’s funny how black and white photography flattens everything out. You can get a great sense of the Queen’s features, her regal posture, but it’s also like the whole image has been dipped in milky tea. I wonder, in the studio, was there a similar feeling? Think of the material reality of a moment like this. There are the heavy fabrics, the jewels. You can tell that Wilhelmina is laden down with stuff. I bet the studio was hot, and I can imagine the fan she is holding was very welcome. It’s like the photographer is trying to capture this particular subject, while also being aware of their role in constructing this figure of authority. I always feel this tension when I look at portraits of powerful people. They are just people, but they’re also symbols. And that’s what the artist is always working with, I think.