Portret van de overgrootmoeder van L. Nopper 1866 - 1874

Editor: This gelatin-silver print, perhaps touched with coloured pencil, captures Jacques Pilartz's 'Portrait of L. Nopper’s Great-Grandmother' sometime between 1866 and 1874. It has such a sepia, wistful aura about it. It makes me wonder, what do you make of it? Curator: Oh, she has a beautiful serenity, hasn't she? What resonates most for me is the *story* whispering from those old tones. The woman is a portrait of her era – her dress, the very formal pose. The small photograph, probably destined for an album, tucked away to be brought out on rainy days. Editor: Absolutely! It’s fascinating how photography democratised portraiture; this felt so much more intimate, more "real". Curator: Indeed. Instead of stiff formality, it suggests a tangible connection to the sitter, to our own ancestors! What a marvelous, subtle mystery, how do *we* find them in her gaze? And where does that leave *us*? Do you see echoes of your family history here? Editor: That's true – I’m really struck by how it bridges a past I’ve never lived and something in myself right now. Curator: A little bit of art, some human warmth - what more can we ask? It speaks so perfectly of remembering, a feeling as universal as they come.