Portret van een kind 1860 - 1900

Editor: We’re looking at "Portret van een kind" a gelatin-silver print from between 1860 and 1900 by Alphonse Joseph Bousseton. It's such a delicate, almost ghostly image of this child. What strikes me is the formality of it, even though it's a very intimate subject. What do you see in this piece, considering its historical context? Curator: It’s important to recognize how photographic portraiture like this rose alongside the emerging middle class. How do we claim our place in society? By recording ourselves within it! Photography became this democratized mode of display that also mirrored trends within fine art. So, to have a photographic portrait taken was in itself a social act. Editor: A social act… almost a claim to legitimacy? Curator: Precisely. Before photography, portraiture was largely reserved for the elite. But here we see access, of a kind. Though the lighting and pose may also indicate something else; what sort of role do you imagine children occupied in photographic portraits during the 19th century? How were they positioned to be viewed by the public through these depictions? Editor: Hmmm...almost like symbols of hope for the family? Or maybe the future itself, but packaged in this very contained, proper way? Curator: Exactly. They were very controlled portrayals, reflecting values projected *onto* children, not necessarily representing the reality of childhood. Editor: I hadn't thought about it that way, that it wasn't necessarily an individual being captured, but an idea. Curator: Precisely! And considering this in terms of photography's influence, and vice versa, on social history lets us engage with this image far beyond simply appreciating its aesthetic qualities. Editor: Definitely food for thought, thinking about what's behind these historical images!