Portret van Alice Regnault 1878 - 1890

Curator: Here we have a captivating portrait, “Portret van Alice Regnault,” captured by Nadar between 1878 and 1890. It resides here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: The texture and the layers here are immediately striking. There's the plush hat with feathers, a lace trim… it makes me think about how those details construct this very composed identity. Curator: Nadar, of course, was very interested in portraying individuals through photography, and the Regnault portrait exemplifies that. The subtle use of light really brings Alice Regnault's character to life. Editor: Exactly, you can tell the photograph wasn't a spontaneous shot but a composed moment, like many portraits of the time. What I wonder is the labor behind those surfaces, especially regarding the lacework—someone certainly dedicated hours to creating that lace trim on her clothing. Curator: Nadar was a crucial figure, wasn’t he? His role as a photographer intersected with so many of the major cultural shifts in late 19th-century France. Not only was he a part of artistic and intellectual circles but he helped document these evolutions with portraits like this one. Editor: Yes, the material context—from photographic emulsion to that feathered hat—positions Alice Regnault not only as an individual, but also reflects the values, craftsmanship, and accessibilities of that time. It's about the means to represent oneself and participate in society's spectacle. Curator: Absolutely. Nadar captured Regnault, but what we see is an interplay between the sitter's personality and Nadar's artistic vision. In terms of technique, notice Nadar’s expert use of soft focus? It's what lends the image that almost dreamlike quality, softening some of the sharper edges typical of early photography. Editor: Thinking about Nadar and his contemporaries, you see a real tension between using photography for scientific accuracy versus creating artistic effects. These manipulations speak to how photographers negotiated their own role in society. Curator: A balance of the documentarian and artist—he wanted to portray the authentic personality. We hope this look at “Portret van Alice Regnault” has shed light on how photographs help show individuals but mirror cultural conditions too. Editor: Indeed, we see how photographs operate as reflections, not only of individual faces, but also of the complex material world that surrounds and ultimately shapes us.