Op Ma retraite 1903 - 1910

Curator: Here we have Hendrik Doijer's photographic print, “Op Ma Retraite,” which roughly translates to "In My Retreat." It was likely created between 1903 and 1910, a lovely example of Dutch Pictorialism. Editor: My first thought is how serene, how almost ghostly it appears. The sepia tones and soft focus lend it an air of faded memory, a dream of the countryside. It makes me think of slowing down, escaping... maybe retiring? Curator: The dream of the countryside, yes! Note the little pavilion structure to the left and what seems to be a classical bust, possibly made of marble, off to the right. How fascinating is the contrast—one constructed as a practical shelter; the other erected as ornamentation and intellectual prowess, standing as twin beacons within this “Retreat.” Editor: And who constructed those things, right? Because both are decidedly built, of things... The pavilion probably saw use, its function as a resting space for some groundskeeper, built by a team of labourers, while the classical bust gestures towards aspirations and knowledge—presumably carved from valuable stone and signifying someone important, wealthy and in need of memorialising! Curator: Right, or to remind oneself—a memento mori. You sense the past here, in both these material constructions and the landscape’s subdued light. A feeling that whatever this person retreats from is still haunting them, not in an urgent way, but with an antique solemnity, a past one wishes to revisit over and over... Editor: Indeed. The actual labour is invisible in the photograph itself, we only see the material remains of its consequences. It makes me wonder: Who was actually allowed this 'retreat'? And who kept it going? Because photographs like these were luxury items back then—luxury for whom, I wonder. Curator: Yes, what hides behind the images… Yet this print seems to me almost like a meditation. I find something comforting about these romanticized and highly curated images. Doijer has staged a dream in monochrome; one where there’s space for simple architecture and contemplative idols to be enjoyed within the grounds, bathed in delicate light. A wish for simpler times perhaps? Editor: A very skillfully constructed simplicity. And thinking about it, how perfectly judged Doijer's use of photographic materials would be for that kind of melancholy… We wouldn't get the same sense if this was a drawing or a painting, the very 'realness' of photography is what seduces here. Curator: Ultimately, it seems that, at least to me, Doijer manages to construct his romantic reverie of the land; of something worth leaving behind in our collective memory, even to this day.