Portret van een vrouw, staand bij een zuil met fotolijst 1893 - 1917

This old photograph by Frederick Southwell depicts a woman standing beside a column with a picture frame. I wonder about the woman and the artist as they're making the photo. Her dress looks quite formal with the puffed sleeves, and I like to imagine it might have been her favourite. She leans casually on the column, with a potted fern to the side. There's a second framed photograph on the column, which feels strange and recursive, like an early experiment in meta-photography. I wonder what it was like to stand there and pose for so long. The artist, Southwell, is making choices about lighting and composition, while she tries to relax into a natural position. Maybe they're friends, or maybe it's a more formal arrangement. Photography back then must have felt completely different. Now that everyone has a camera, it's hard to remember it used to be such a special occasion. I love the image of an image.