Portret van een vrouw, staand bij een stoel 1900 - 1910

Curator: Here we have a portrait dating from roughly 1900 to 1910, simply titled "Portret van een vrouw, staand bij een stoel," which translates to "Portrait of a Woman, Standing by a Chair." The Globus Atelier produced this albumen print, a photographic process very popular at the time. Editor: The image just makes me think of sepia dreams and bygone eras. I imagine her life story playing out. She has kind eyes but a reserved demeanor, all captured in that soft light. There is some sadness in that smile or a stoic stance in her gesture… Curator: Indeed, the albumen print process does lend itself to that warm sepia tone. Examining the details – the studio setting with the faux column or vase, the woman’s attire including the large bow, it becomes evident how staged the entire construction is. This tells us a lot about societal conventions and how photographic images functioned then. Editor: The constructedness is interesting because at first glance, it feels so immediate. I love how the bow, though large and almost awkward, gives her such a charming characteristic. The fact that the materiality shines through—we are seeing the marks of time, aging chemistry, even, transforms its artificiality into something palpably genuine. Curator: Absolutely, and the degradation also raises questions of preservation and consumption of photographic portraits during the time. Did it serve familial functions or became artistic object by itself? I'm more interested in its creation: considering how it served as a commercial tool from Globus Atelier, rather than merely aesthetic values. Editor: Okay, now that's pragmatic. Thinking about its "use value" certainly changes things! Still, looking at it this way, even commercialism has the touch of a particular maker who decides composition, the light and poses; which means that it does possess a certain intention of what counts for aesthetics, a creative input that somehow expresses humanity! Curator: Very well put! Maybe by oscillating between image as object and material artifact, we begin to capture some nuances from photographic works. Editor: Perhaps so! The photograph certainly seems to hold on tight to both histories – aesthetic and material!