Zittende vrouw 1907 - 1930

Curator: Editor: So, this is Adolphe Burdet's "Zittende vrouw," a photograph dating from around 1907 to 1930, held at the Rijksmuseum. The colors feel so vivid. I'm curious, what stands out to you about this image? Curator: What's striking is the seemingly casual approach to its production. The figure, possibly the artist himself, is framed within a landscape and using a technique that leans heavily on plein-air methods. The labor involved in hand-coloring a photograph transforms a common reproducible medium into something much closer to a crafted, singular object. Editor: So you're seeing this as a commentary on mass production, maybe? Photography was becoming more accessible, so adding paint elevates it? Curator: Precisely! It begs the question: what happens when industrial processes meet artistic intervention? Burdet is not just pointing and shooting; the labour and manipulation involved pushes it into a dialogue with painting, blurring those established hierarchies. What's your read on the materials in use? How does that contribute to the dialogue here? Editor: Well, the choice of the chair, it looks almost collapsible and like it’s machine made - and she is right in nature? The clothes as well speak of accessible materials rather than haute couture. So the means of manufacture become almost part of the portrait. Curator: Absolutely, and that clash highlights a critical point about artistic production during this period, doesn’t it? The choice to photograph outside and the inclusion of everyday objects speaks to a broader movement of bringing art closer to lived experience, democratising representation, so to speak. Editor: I hadn’t considered how the means of creating the image also forms part of its message. Thanks for this viewpoint! Curator: And for pointing to those telling elements in the picture: those ordinary garments and simple deck chair!