Portret van een vrouw uit de familie Marmelstein, vermoedelijk de moeder van A. F. Marmelstein 1850 - 1900

Curator: There’s such a stillness in this photograph, isn't there? Like pressing pause on a life. Editor: Absolutely. "Portret van een vrouw uit de familie Marmelstein, vermoedelijk de moeder van A. F. Marmelstein", that’s what we know it as. It’s a photographic portrait, dating from around 1850 to 1900. Looking at her face, the mother of A. F. Marmelstein exudes a quiet dignity. But underneath, I sense a sadness too, maybe even a resignation? Curator: I feel that resignation, that quiet… maybe it was the length of time people had to sit to have their photo taken? Think of holding that pose. It would imprint something, wouldn’t it? This woman seems tethered to that ornate chair. But I keep getting distracted by that elaborate parlor setup, complete with painted backdrop. I feel it says much more about the era’s values than perhaps the mother in question felt for them. Editor: These portraits functioned as both documents and aspirations. Realism through photography combined with a constructed idea of status and self-presentation. I wonder what Marmelstein and the Marmelstein family more broadly represented in Dutch society and if these items and staging have anything to do with the need to show off an increasing influence? Curator: That makes me question whether, in a world saturated with selfies, a hundred years from now will people look at those and go, "Wow, such quiet desperation behind those filters!" There’s a vulnerability here because photography felt new, maybe more honest. Did they feel this would be like peering through their souls? I almost prefer to leave my reading open to imagination. Editor: I agree in part, but photography created that vulnerability—as the gaze and the power behind the apparatus often left marginalized groups depicted and represented unfairly. But leaving space for interpretation in such settings should always be accounted for! Ultimately, looking at her face—this piece serves as a point for future discourse on motherhood, posing for photographs and the ever-presence of art. Curator: Very true. A pause in time, indeed. Editor: Yes, indeed. The mother of Marmelstein still calls to us today.