Portret van een peuter 1880 - 1906

Editor: Here we have "Portret van een peuter," or "Portrait of a Toddler," by W.G. Kuijer & Zonen, dating from 1880 to 1906. It seems to be a photograph within some kind of album. There's something so arresting about old photos. What do you see when you look at it? Curator: I notice immediately the tension between the photographic process itself and its framing. The rigid posture and formality of the toddler's dress contrast sharply with what must have been a very arduous process of capturing this image. Consider the materials, the chemicals, the darkroom labour... Editor: Right, the sheer effort of making a photograph back then was so different than today! Curator: Precisely. It suggests a level of intentionality around representation, around marking the child's existence in a tangible form. Note how the seat cushion seems meticulously placed as if elevating the toddler. Do you see any symbolism? Editor: Maybe the elevated surface that this baby sits on is about wealth, or some sort of status? What I find kind of humorous, looking closely, is that it kind of appears they plonked a baby in the middle of a parlor on the cushion of an ornately woven chair and were like “okay, perfect”. Curator: Absolutely, and isn't that fascinating? That even within these constrained materials and expectations, we still glimpse at a candid expression? Editor: Definitely! I never considered the material conditions of early photography affecting the sitter's representation, but it makes complete sense. Curator: Examining the process lets us understand social values attached to the production and display of imagery from that period. I will keep an eye on that aspect from now on!