Portret van J.B. Aug Kessler en zijn dochters before 1900

Curator: This photograph, taken sometime before 1900, is titled "Portret van J.B. Aug Kessler en zijn dochters," which translates to "Portrait of J.B. Aug Kessler and his Daughters." It resides here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Immediately, I'm struck by the stark formality of the scene. The composition feels incredibly rigid, almost like a tableau vivant. Everyone seems so deliberately posed. Curator: It reflects, doesn't it, the conventions of portraiture at the time, especially photography? It’s meant to convey status, propriety. The Kessler family was certainly a prominent one; this J.B. Aug Kessler was Geldolph Adriaan Kessler. Editor: Right, the social and industrial heavyweight... Makes you wonder what purpose this portrait was intended to serve. To be circulated among family, perhaps a more public declaration of their position? The building behind them becomes part of that visual vocabulary too, doesn’t it? Imposing. Curator: Exactly. That backdrop reinforces their rootedness, their establishment. But look closer – that faint melancholy in their eyes. Photography at the time often had long exposure times so the slightest movement created blurring, but that also gave a heavy stillness to the moment and to each sitter, the viewer reads melancholy into that look. What is the nature of the photographer-sitter relationship? Do they feel the same way as when we quickly snap a picture? Editor: Good point. There’s a weight to it. But perhaps the formality and stillness we initially perceive also lends them a certain dignity. They're not smiling for the camera in the way that would become fashionable, it’s the absence of easy emotion which makes the photo stand out now, but for me. There's a resilience there, isn't there? They look unbending. Curator: Interesting. Perhaps it's both the imposed social construct and their personal character shining through. They own themselves in this moment, while also understanding their responsibilities. That is some fascinating early realism, as such this photograph speaks across history to us, more poignantly than more staged images sometimes manage. Editor: Well, this journey into one family’s attempt at immortality leaves me contemplating the nature of public image and what it is now. I like this somber reflection to take back into the present. Curator: For me too, this seemingly straightforward family portrait proves to be richer in history than one may think; so that helps us question not only past images but ourselves when we present images today.