Twee prentbriefkaarten van het bezoek van koningin Wilhelmina en prins Hendrik aan Versailles Possibly 1912 - 1916

These two photographic postcards by the Neurdein Frères document Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Hendrik’s visit to Versailles. The muted tones and captured moments have a quiet feel, like stumbling upon a memory. What strikes me is how these images, fixed in time, still suggest movement. The top image, with its crowd and raised umbrellas, feels like a paused scene in a play. The lower image, the carriage wheels could start turning any second. There’s a tension between the stillness of the photograph and the implied motion, a push and pull that keeps the eye moving. The grey scale palette has this dreamy quality, it almost feels like you could step into them and walk around. This reminds me of the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher. They captured industrial structures with the same kind of detached but loving eye. Both share a fascination with the mundane, turning the everyday into something worthy of contemplation. Art’s not just about the grand gesture, it’s about noticing the quiet moments too.