glasnegatief c. 1895 - 1925

Editor: So this is a gelatin silver print called "glasnegatief" by W.G. Hondius van den Broek, dating from around 1895 to 1925. Because it's a negative, the lighting feels a little eerie, almost like a ghost image, but there’s also a strange intimacy to this mother and child. What catches your eye? Curator: What I notice is the way this inverted world reframes our idea of time, pulling us back, like memory, to a very specific moment. It's like finding a forgotten song. Can you see the soft light hitting the mother’s face? Almost as if she is bathed in moonlight in daytime, casting the ordinary, as in every mom and babe, in the extraordinary glow of love that transcends everything. Editor: Yes, and the detail is quite amazing for a photo of that era, especially considering it's a negative! The lace on her dress, the lines on the brickwork...it almost feels like a painting, but so fragile. Curator: Indeed. The imperfections and subtle shifts, perhaps? It whispers, rather than shouts. It dares you to imagine and fill in the blanks to evoke not just visual similarity, but rather emotions and the stories behind this moment. Who were they? What was life like for them? Do you also notice the stark lines of the window contrasted with the mother's soft eyes? Editor: Definitely! I hadn’t noticed that, it does create a quiet drama. So it is the contrasts and fragility that evoke more curiosity. Curator: Precisely. Beauty can bloom even from unexpected places, or from upside down in this instance. Remember to trust what whispers to you from within any piece of art. Editor: I will. Thanks, it helps appreciate this little oddity, seeing the inverted reality!