Willem Frederik Piek Sr. en Lucia Wilhelmina Piek-Jolles wandelend in een bos nabij Arnhem 1889 - 1893

Curator: This photograph, taken sometime between 1889 and 1893, shows Willem Frederik Piek Sr. and Lucia Wilhelmina Piek-Jolles taking a walk in a forest near Arnhem. Editor: The hazy, dreamlike quality is the first thing that strikes me. It evokes a wistful, almost melancholic feeling, doesn't it? Curator: I think you've keyed into the Romantic sensibilities present here. Beyond that, the couple, particularly Willem in his top hat, present as symbols of stability and a specific societal positioning. Editor: Let's consider the materiality then. It's a photograph, so it documents a specific moment, ostensibly objective. But then, that dreamy focus manipulates the surface, obscuring the "real" to craft a different vision. What was the printing process like at this time to produce this effect? Curator: The pictorialist style was gaining momentum then, prioritizing artistic effect over stark realism. This soft focus, this "painterly" quality you see, comes from particular darkroom manipulations. The printing itself creates the effect. Editor: Which begs the question: what are they selling? I mean beyond just portraiture. Are we meant to buy into a certain lifestyle? A certain idealized view of marriage? Curator: Perhaps. The setting, the forest, as well, represents escape, an embrace of nature celebrated by the Romantics, which reflects values beyond commercial ones. A life of harmony. Editor: Harmony maybe... or escape from industrialized life? These early photographic processes seem interesting. To present an authentic picture of bourgeois life in an inauthentic way. The labour of that dark room creating this picture! It hides a real cost. Curator: Indeed! An artistic process, even in its supposed truthfulness, often bears more secrets than it readily unveils. Editor: Yes, but what it reveals – or carefully obscures – is often just as valuable for uncovering a broader truth. Curator: I concur, both artist's touch and the truths veiled are crucial elements within its story.