Op weg naar de Nieuwe Kerk, te Amsterdam op 6 September 1938, voor de herdenkingsbijeenkomst van het 40- jarig regeeringsjubileum van H.M. de koningin Possibly 1938 - 1939

Curator: What does "Op weg naar de Nieuwe Kerk" by an anonymous artist, likely from 1938 or 1939, communicate to you? Editor: It's a gelatin-silver print depicting Queen Wilhelmina and another royal figure, perhaps Juliana, walking to a ceremony. There's a sense of restrained elegance but also...almost a somberness? I’m wondering, what do you see when you look at this photograph? Curator: I see a carefully constructed image of power and duty, one ripe with historical tension. The photograph commemorates Queen Wilhelmina's 40th Jubilee in 1938, a moment of national pride just before the storm of World War II. How do you think the historical context affects your reading of the image? Editor: Knowing it was taken right before the war definitely shifts things. That somberness I felt seems more significant now – less about formality and more about the weight of the future. Curator: Exactly. The artist chose to focus on the figures in transit, emphasizing their roles as symbols of national stability at a time when the very notion was deeply fragile. Consider the choice of black and white, the slightly blurred background. Are they merely walking to a church service, or are they carrying the hopes of a nation on their shoulders? Do you perceive any underlying currents related to gender in that moment in time? Editor: I never would have considered all that just from a quick glance. The gender dynamic adds another layer – women embodying national strength in a time of impending crisis. It is definitely more complex than I thought. Curator: It's a photograph that invites us to think critically about the intersection of history, identity, and representation. There’s always something hidden in plain sight. Editor: Absolutely. I see that now. It makes you wonder what the photographer was trying to capture, and what they were leaving unsaid. Thanks!