Portret van een onbekende baby op kussen 1892 - 1906

This is an undated portrait of an unknown baby on a cushion, made by Machiel Hendricus Laddé. Laddé was part of the second generation of Dutch photographers, and he captured the changing face of the Netherlands at the turn of the century. This image, with its formal composition, might suggest a middle-class family in the Netherlands. Yet, the ‘unknown’ in the title underscores how identity can be lost and obscured over time. Who were these people, and what were their stories? What were their dreams for the future? The sepia tones evoke nostalgia, a longing for a past that we can only imagine. The image shows the sitters dressed in dark, formal attire. It is a portrait of a nuclear family with all the weight and pressure that this institution held at the time. Laddé’s photograph allows us to reflect on the universality of family, while also prompting us to ask questions about the complexities of identity.