Portret van een vrouw 1856 - 1875

This is Johannes Wilhelmus Karsses’s ‘Portret van een vrouw’, a photograph with dimensions of just 81 by 50 millimeters. The portrait is framed by an oval, itself contained within a rectangular border. This compositional structure divides the image into distinct planes, creating a sense of depth. The woman's gaze is directed towards us, yet her expression remains neutral, inviting a closer inspection. The photograph’s sepia tones further contribute to a sense of distance. This tonal choice encourages a reading of the image not merely as a record but as an arrangement of light and shadow. Karsses thus manipulates visual signs to elicit interpretation. Consider how the photograph’s structure, divided into the oval containing the subject and its rectangular frame, emphasizes both enclosure and exposure. This dynamic is representative of larger cultural tensions between privacy and the public display inherent in portraiture. It challenges us to reconsider photography’s supposed objectivity.