Portret van een jongen in een kruippakje 1891 - 1912

Curator: This rather wonderful portrait, taken between 1891 and 1912, is entitled 'Portret van een jongen in een kruippakje', or Portrait of a boy in a romper suit, by Friedrich Carel Hisgen. Editor: He looks utterly unconvinced, doesn't he? The monochrome gives it a timeless quality, but there's a real sense of weariness in that toddler's expression. It's fascinating. Curator: Well, studio portraits were serious affairs back then, nothing like the casual snaps we take today. The child would have had to sit very still, for quite some time, for the exposure. Consider the production itself—the backdrop painted to resemble a lush garden, completely at odds with the probable urban reality outside the studio. Editor: And yet, that's precisely what captivates me! This tension between the manufactured setting and the unvarnished truth of the boy’s gaze... It raises interesting questions about the studio as a factory, in a way, churning out these idealized images for a fee. Look at the simple craftsmanship of his outfit; his gaze seems almost resistant to this construction. Curator: He probably just wanted a biscuit, but I take your point! Beyond the immediate context of early photography, I'm drawn to the human aspect. This boy's portrait echoes childhoods of the past. It's a poignant visual reminder of a time so different from our own. Editor: Exactly, and Hisgen, likely one of many photographers, made his livelihood through material production. We may think it's art, but the means of its creation tie it to the world of manufacture. We see not just sentimentality, but labor too, frozen in time. Curator: The Rijksmuseum holds this fascinating piece today and I believe it is amazing that these relics have made it into the present moment to tell stories for us. Editor: A reminder that what we consume as art often obscures the network of making, of commerce, that made its creation possible. It is important to have images like these so that stories of different ways of life can be told.