Portret van een onbekende vrouw met een baby 1880 - 1915

Editor: Here we have an old photograph from between 1880 and 1915 by Charls & Van Es. It’s called "Portret van een onbekende vrouw met een baby"—Portrait of an unknown woman with a baby. It's undeniably a sentimental image. It makes me think of my grandmother. What captures your imagination when you see this? Curator: You know, it's funny, I immediately thought of sepia-toned memories too. This isn't just a snapshot; it's a little portal, isn't it? Look at the way the light falls, soft and almost dreamlike, on the mother's face and the baby's chubby cheeks. The crisp lace at her collar, juxtaposed with the patterned drape upon which the baby sits, hints at wealth, perhaps a performance of prosperity. Editor: Performance is a great word. It’s clearly staged. They both look so serious. Curator: Exactly! Think about what a photograph *meant* then. This was an *event*. Did you also notice the detail in the printing on the studio's name? ‘Charls van Es & Co, Batavia’. This was then the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. This might be the other side of a colonial story – or perhaps a completely different interpretation exists if the sitters are not Dutch. How can this single still image start a bigger dialogue? What might be the hidden narratives? Editor: The possibilities make your head spin. I hadn’t even thought about it in those terms. I was just focusing on their expressions. I do now wonder why there’s so little joy apparent. Curator: I am glad you observed that – perhaps it prompts us to not assume an expression, a feeling, in quite the same way in the future. Editor: This image certainly invites a more probing engagement. Thanks, I think I understand so much better!