Portret van een onbekend bruidspaar c. 1861 - 1915

Curator: Looking at this rather formal photograph, dating from around 1861 to 1915 and currently residing in the Rijksmuseum, we see a wedding portrait, or at least what is titled “Portret van een onbekend bruidspaar.” It's an albumen print by Carel Eduard Westerborg. Editor: There's a wistful air about this picture. They look so serious, almost apprehensive. Do you sense a touch of melancholy, too? Curator: I think it's less melancholy and more about the performative aspect of photography at this time. Photographic portraits were a social performance and an attempt to solidify social standing; it was vital to convey a sense of stability and decorum. They're posing, representing ideals. The stiff formality we read as sadness is more about the era's photographic conventions. Editor: Yet the symbols of marriage are still deeply resonant – the veil, her white dress, the flowers. What do these icons tell us about the universal desire for union and new beginnings? The dress, specifically – that’s far more elaborate than most garb of the era, and hints at higher-class social circles. Curator: Indeed, the visual language speaks of prosperity and adherence to tradition. And, interestingly, while the photograph attempts to freeze a moment, the clothing can speak to so much larger of a moment in the grander view. The style places this towards the later end of its ascribed dating, around the turn of the century, possibly into the first decade of the 1900s. Note the cut of his coat. It all fits the style of a prosperous, upper-class European marriage of the Edwardian age. Editor: It is a fascinating window into that specific moment in time. The detail in her lace, his carefully maintained mustache… Curator: Agreed; a great intersection of photography and history! Editor: Indeed. It makes you wonder about their story, though. Happy ever after or… Curator: A tale for another time perhaps, but one ripe for imaginative interpretations.