Portret van Emma, koningin-regentes der Nederlanden, en Juliana, koningin der Nederlanden 1920

Curator: This is a gelatin-silver print by Herman Deutmann, dating from 1920. It is titled "Portret van Emma, koningin-regentes der Nederlanden, en Juliana, koningin der Nederlanden", which translates to "Portrait of Emma, Queen Regent of the Netherlands, and Juliana, Queen of the Netherlands." Editor: It projects an air of maternal warmth and dynastic continuity. The grayscale softens the scene, but I find myself drawn to the almost stern composure of the older woman versus the younger woman holding a book in her small hands. Curator: Considering the materiality, gelatin-silver prints like this one became incredibly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for their tonal range and relative ease of production. This image wouldn't exist without significant developments in industrial chemistry and the mass production of photographic materials. And consider what that mass reproducibility did for the royal family! Editor: Absolutely, but the composition is doing a lot of work as well. Note the carefully constructed symbolism here: the book young Juliana holds, suggestive of learning and inheriting knowledge. The older queen’s stern face is in sharp contrast to the young princess who looks right back at the camera. Curator: This photo is undeniably staged, but that doesn't make it inauthentic. Rather it is work: think of the labor and capital that went into clothing and providing for these sitters so that they could create an image of royalty. This image is meant to reassure its audience during times of global shift. Editor: I am struck by how it represents not just a family portrait but the embodiment of a nation’s hope for the future through the symbolic passing of a torch. The eye is always drawn to the little Queen! Curator: It's easy to get lost in those symbolic readings but this photo couldn't exist without technological innovation in a factory, workers, darkrooms, gelatin! Editor: Perhaps but beyond its industrial origins, this photo immortalizes figures poised between tradition and a rapidly changing world. I see cultural endurance represented. Curator: And I appreciate seeing the convergence of industrial development and labor put towards the construction of monarchy and class! Editor: Indeed! These two seemingly contrasting aspects—materiality and symbolism—weave together to give this work a profound presence.