Portret van een baby 1891 - 1927

Curator: This gelatin-silver print, entitled “Portret van een baby”, by Henri de Louw, presents a poignant image dating between 1891 and 1927, held here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Ah, the quintessential baby portrait. Immediately I'm drawn to its sweetness, but with a touch of something... wistful? Is it the slightly sepia tone or that incredibly ornate, almost theatrical, dress? It feels very staged, in that historical way. Curator: The theatricality connects strongly with the traditions of portraiture – think about Renaissance infant portraits – and even broader themes, such as innocence and vulnerability, heavily laden themes throughout centuries of Western art. That crisp, white gown, those perfectly arranged folds… They are less about literal representation and more about communicating idealized purity. Editor: It almost feels a bit suffocating, ironically. All that lace feels less like celebration, more like… entombment. Maybe that’s a bit strong, but there’s a definite contrast between the soft vulnerability of the baby and the formality imposed by the image. Curator: Well, let’s consider Pictorialism, a movement contemporaneous with this image, where photography aimed to achieve artistic effects akin to painting. De Louw evokes soft focus and atmospheric effects that would align with that aesthetic. This, perhaps, contributed to that ‘dreamy’, slightly unreal quality that you detected. Editor: That makes total sense. And the lighting, it is quite dramatic now that you mention it! Almost baroque. Did they actually have dramatic lighting techniques that early? Curator: Yes, though limited! Photographers carefully controlled light and experimented with printing techniques to create those painterly qualities you notice. The choice of gelatin silver likely provided that beautiful tonal range visible. Editor: It's incredible how techniques, mediums, styles combine and influence our feelings towards the piece so vividly. So much information conveyed through a photograph. It gives a real pause for thought. Curator: Indeed. This photograph gives a quiet resonance long after we look away. Editor: It’s those visual echoes that make each artwork such a beautiful adventure in time.