Drie onbekende meisjes in Russische klederdracht before 1895

Editor: This is an image from before 1895, titled "Three Unknown Girls in Russian National Costume," credited to Bonneau & Co. It looks like a photograph reproduced in a book or journal. There’s a kind of wistful formality to it... a seriousness, perhaps related to the gravity of having your photograph taken back then. What can you tell me about it? Curator: It’s fascinating, isn’t it? That wistful formality, you’ve nailed it. To me, the girls appear almost like characters plucked from a fairytale. There's a layered reality— a constructed image *of* constructed images. Consider that the Russian avant-garde sought inspiration in folk art. So is this, in its way, folk art *itself*? Or is it already an "avant-garde" interpretation *of* folk life by a photography studio? I see echoes of icon painting in their poses, and maybe a yearning for an idealized past amidst industrial change. Do you sense that tension, that pull? Editor: Yes, I can see that. The staged aspect, but with a yearning. The clothes are obviously important signifiers. But I'm curious, what does that tension you mentioned really *mean*? Curator: Meaning? Oh, that’s for you to decide. It is that dance between old and new. And what they represent. Maybe tradition under pressure, maybe beauty deliberately preserved... maybe a touch of theatre? After all, every photo is a fiction, don't you think? Even, or *especially*, a gelatin silver print pretending to be, well, utterly candid. Editor: I see what you mean! So the photograph’s not just a record, it’s a carefully constructed message in itself. Curator: Exactly! These aren't just "three girls", but icons of Russian identity negotiating modernity, as seen through a lens and within a "photographic review", literally framed within a vision of culture itself! Thanks for seeing this with fresh eyes – I learned something! Editor: Me too! It’s amazing how much is going on beneath the surface of what looks like just a simple portrait.