Portret van Suzanne Froliger bij een kast 1891 - 1894

Curator: This etching, delicately rendered by Norbert Goeneutte between 1891 and 1894, is titled "Portret van Suzanne Froliger bij een kast"— "Portrait of Suzanne Froliger by a Cabinet". Editor: My immediate thought is, "searching". She appears to be lost in contemplation as she browses. Also the vertical orientation combined with that shadowy cabinet evokes a somber feeling for me. Curator: Indeed. Note how Goeneutte uses the etching technique to suggest textures; see how the skirt pools into deep blacks, while the shirt achieves a shimmering effect through finely worked lines. I am wondering if it really a portait, though? Editor: It's intriguing how an ostensibly mundane act, like browsing a cabinet, is made interesting through materiality and production here. That hatching reminds me of fabrics being woven… or maybe how domestic labor becomes literally "etched" in daily life? Curator: A beautiful analogy! It feels so intensely private. The artist might as well not be there either. Though it is a portrait, it's as if we caught a glimpse of her, Suzanne, utterly alone, at ease maybe, without any pressure of facing the observer directly. It feels strangely intimate to share a fleeting glimpse into the woman's quietude Editor: Looking closely, one wonders about the objects. They appear to be more than just books or random paraphernalia. It seems she's immersed not only in space but memory, each book a symbol. I want to reach out to the woman depicted and dive into the contents of this cabinet as she did.. Curator: And in a way, that makes us fellow searchers too. Editor: In pursuit of hidden and perhaps forbidden knowledges, it seems, literally "written on the walls" through domestic structures and routine actions! Wonderful how this dialogue prompts me to reflect on everyday lives represented through such intricate etching.