Montagefoto van miniatuurportretten van peuters after 1877

Curator: At first glance, it’s almost overwhelming—a dense field of miniature portraits, rendered in a silvery grayscale palette. What are your initial impressions of the composition, the use of light and shade here? Editor: Eerily joyful. It reminds me of Victorian spirit photography, but with babies instead of ghosts! There’s something uncanny about this collection. But tell me, what exactly are we looking at? Curator: This is a gelatin silver print dating from after 1877, titled "Montagefoto van miniatuurportretten van peuters", housed right here in the Rijksmuseum. It's attributed to an anonymous photographer. Editor: An anonymous author… Fascinating. To me, this hints at a broader, perhaps collective sentiment or cultural anxiety around childhood during the period. This sea of infant faces really underscores a kind of cultural obsession with innocence. Curator: I agree that the accumulation is quite potent. Looking closely at the photograph as a material object, it is the careful arrangement of forms within the picture plane, a geometric scaffolding barely holding this effusive energy, that I find captivating. Editor: But there’s also something incredibly human here, isn’t there? I notice little cultural signifiers - each child is posed so deliberately; it shows how carefully and protectively children were and still are regarded by parents and societies. I am also thinking of phrases beneath image: "We came all the way from Chicago.” It humanizes them - ties each baby and his portrait to this important life and to place - gives all portraits another emotional, relational layer of interpretation, tying them more concretely to a narrative. Curator: Perhaps. While it is hard to negate the human aspect here, to really look here and find more insight into authorial intention here, the formal arrangement is important. If we were to disassemble the photographs, and consider their composition in relation to photography being born around that time... Editor: It seems to be that your analytical approach does reveal a lot to think about. All those collective and cultural themes this raises - that are pretty unique when combined with artistic intentions behind such arrangement!