Portret van Alexandra van Denemarken 1880 - 1890

Curator: It’s lovely isn’t it? The way light catches on old silver… this petite treasure from between 1880 and 1890 at the Rijksmuseum— a silver locket holding a photographic portrait identified as Alexandra of Denmark. Editor: There's an incredible sense of stillness here. I can almost feel the weight of Victorian societal expectations, those heavily constructed gender roles pressing down on the sitter, who nevertheless holds a kind of quiet power. Curator: Oh, definitely a subtle defiance there. Knowing Alexandra’s story adds another layer. Imagine being uprooted, married off to royalty… this little picture becomes her pocket-sized anchor, perhaps. Silver is an interesting material choice; both precious, but also a great conductor… thoughts and memories. I like imagining this close to her skin! Editor: Absolutely! Silver in this context feels almost talismanic. Looking closer, the anonymous attribution is also noteworthy. Photography at this time was becoming more accessible, and so this image potentially speaks to wider shifts in class and representation, whilst remaining intensely personal. Who made it? Who was it for? We only see her, encased. Curator: Yes, so many missing elements in the story... What fills the other side, I wonder? Is it a lock of hair, a tiny memento, a secret code? It’s aged too, like stories that get better with time, even the tarnished spots giving depth... Editor: The portrait certainly offers us more questions than answers about representation, access, agency and so much more; I find myself thinking about it within larger debates of historical photography from a feminist perspective. Curator: Right? It’s so small, and so silent… but speaks volumes. It encourages us to really *see* beyond just the surface. A real evocative treasure. Editor: For sure—that tension between the formal, and the personal, allows for multiple perspectives to co-exist within it. An evocative object of intense connection!