Portret van een jonge vrouw 1892 - 1906

Editor: This gelatin-silver print, "Portret van een jonge vrouw," created between 1892 and 1906 by Machiel Hendricus Laddé, is part of the Rijksmuseum collection. It feels like stepping into a quieter, more reserved era, but there’s also a fragility about it, partly due to the photograph’s age and condition. What strikes you most when you look at this image? Curator: That quietness you describe resonates deeply, doesn’t it? It’s like catching a fleeting moment from a half-remembered dream. The young woman’s gaze seems to hold both vulnerability and an unyielding spirit. And for me, there's something almost painterly about the soft gradations of tone, like a Whistler nocturne translated into photographic form. Does her expression remind you of anyone or any artwork, even subconsciously? Editor: I see what you mean. Maybe a little like some of the Pre-Raphaelite portraits, with that similar blend of realism and romanticism. It also prompts the question: what was she thinking? Curator: Exactly! This portrait opens this lovely imaginative space for storytelling, doesn't it? To me, the somewhat damaged emulsion adds another layer. Those imperfections are not flaws; they're traces of time, evidence of the photograph's journey through history, giving it an enigmatic beauty of the past. Editor: It makes me consider photography’s evolution, from a technical process to this cherished cultural artifact. Curator: Precisely! It’s about seeing beyond the surface. About looking with your heart. Perhaps it is then when a simple portrait, damaged as it may be, begins to speak volumes about beauty, time, and resilience.