Portret van een onbekende vrouw 1885 - 1905

Editor: Here we have Carl Wilhelm Bauer's photograph, "Portret van een onbekende vrouw," dating from around 1885 to 1905. It’s a gelatin silver print, capturing a woman in what looks like quite formal attire. The sepia tones give it a lovely nostalgic feel. What catches your eye when you look at this portrait? Curator: The photograph feels so much like a glimpse into a different time, doesn't it? For me, it is a little mysterious – the woman's direct gaze confronts us, yet the very stiff, posed nature of the image leaves me feeling shut out from whatever thoughts lie beneath. It begs the question, doesn't it, of how much these very staged portrait photographs of the time could actually reveal, compared to, say, an Impressionist painting, where capturing a fleeting sense of personality and moment was the very point. What do you make of the contrast in artistic intent? Editor: That’s a brilliant point about the contrast in intent! I hadn't considered that. Perhaps photography at the time was striving for a kind of permanence, an idealized representation rather than capturing a fleeting moment. So it seems the fashion almost overrides any individual expression here. Curator: Precisely! Consider the social context as well. Photography was becoming more accessible, allowing ordinary people to immortalize themselves. What kind of impression did they want to leave? The formality of the dress, the controlled posture – these communicate a desire for respectability, a certain social standing. But also, maybe something about their inner life and hope. What are you taking away from it? Editor: I'm starting to see it as a carefully constructed presentation of self, much more deliberate than I initially thought. It definitely makes you wonder about the woman's story behind that veil of formality. Thanks; that was illuminating! Curator: My pleasure. These encounters always invite a pause to ask of ourselves: who will we be today? How do we pose? The "historical fashion" we see here reflects more than cloth... it hints to a full history of meaning.