Portret van een meisje met bloemen in de hand 1875 - 1899

Editor: Here we have a lovely albumen print by Jean Baptiste Feilner, sometime between 1875 and 1899, called "Portret van een meisje met bloemen in de hand," or "Portrait of a girl with flowers in her hand." It's a sepia-toned image, so the effect is quite subdued and delicate. The girl almost looks like she’s floating. What do you see in this piece? Curator: What a wistful capture! This portrait feels like a pressed flower, doesn’t it? Delicate, a little faded, holding secrets of another era. Look at the soft light – it’s like memory itself, selectively illuminating certain features: the crispness of the flowers, the set of her jaw, that slightly turned gaze suggesting a mind far away. Does she dream of future romance or fret at the seams of the present? I'd wager that this would be the only time she felt like the subject, never really the star. I also love how the frame—the visible photograph album—becomes part of the artwork, a portal to another time. Editor: I hadn't thought about the photograph album as being part of the work itself! It adds another layer, for sure. Do you think it makes it more intimate, seeing it in the context of a family album? Curator: Absolutely. Think of old family photographs. The bent corners, faded ink and all the details they suggest, beyond the mere visual. This portrait whispers to us across the years. This, in itself, holds its own narrative and allows us to reflect on themes of past innocence. But where would this hang? Above your great grandfather's toilet? Oh dear! Editor: I’m seeing so much more now, considering how we, today, encounter portraiture. The fact that this has survived, in this way, feels pretty remarkable. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure! And, as they say, to dust... returning again!