Fotoreproductie van een daguerreotypie met een portret van Catharina van Braam-Baud 1855 - 1870

This is a reproduction of a daguerreotype portrait of Catharina van Braam-Baud, made by Woodbury & Page. The sitter’s clothing is adorned with potent symbols of status, and is a silent language spoken among the elite classes of Europe, reflecting societal values of order, class, and propriety. Notice the pearl brooch at her sternum: a symbol of purity and marital status, a status symbol worn to broadcast virtue and respectability. The pearls remind me of Botticelli's Venus, emerging from her shell, draped in flowing hair, and adorned with pearls around her neck. Both images speak to a culture of wealth, status and, on a subconscious level, fertility. The pearls adorning Catharina van Braam-Baud's dress tell a story of cultural memory and continuity, of a symbol that has transcended its original meaning to be reshaped and reinterpreted. It is an image of recurring motifs, echoing and resurfacing through the ages, demonstrating the enduring power of symbols.