Portret van een onbekende vrouw 1864 - 1872

Editor: This is a gelatin-silver print portrait from between 1864 and 1872 by J. Korsten, titled "Portret van een onbekende vrouw" - or "Portrait of an unknown woman". It has an old-fashioned aesthetic. What strikes me is its calm stillness. It's lovely. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Ah, yes! A quiet photograph, isn't it? When I look at her, I think of old daguerreotypes tucked away in attic trunks. It's a tangible echo from a distant, buttoned-up past, full of secrets. Isn’t it wild to think of who she might have been, what dreams she clutched close, maybe loves she held... How do you imagine her life, even? What do her eyes whisper to you? Editor: I imagine a simple life, very constrained by the era, family obligations. But her gaze is direct; not defiant, exactly, but resolute. She knows her mind, I think. Maybe she secretly writes poetry. Curator: I adore that you see her that way! Maybe we both imprint something of our own selves and hopes onto her gaze, don't you think? All of those tiny moments are what constitute a life, you see, now imprinted on a small photograph. I feel she lives again when we think about her story, the story we wish for her, the woman she might become, with us. Editor: That's beautiful. It's almost like we collaborate with J. Korsten, finishing the portrait by imagining her story! Thank you. Curator: And thank you, I hadn't quite seen it that way until now myself! Isn't it magic what unfolds when we linger, letting an artwork reveal its many lives, through time and through our own imaginations.