Dimensions: height 300 mm, width 311 mm, height 290 mm, width 311 mm
Copyright: Rijks Museum: Open Domain
Curator: The work before us is titled "Marie Jordan Breitner with a Cat in her Lap", a photograph attributed to George Hendrik Breitner, dating from around 1885 to 1905. Editor: It has such a melancholic atmosphere. The muted tones, the sitter's reserved gaze. There's a real intimacy, even tenderness, in the arrangement. Curator: The photo itself, a relatively new medium at the time, would have been perceived in a particular way. Consider the labour conditions of making art—photography provided an efficient way of reproducing portraiture as this medium democratized image making. Editor: Exactly, yet despite this ease, Breitner has composed the scene with precision. Her plaid patterned dress juxtaposes the sleek white fur of the cat; its stark presence pulls the eye from her face. It's about the interplay between texture and tonality. Curator: Note, too, the class dynamics at play. Marie Jordan, an acquaintance or employee perhaps? By portraying her with the cat, what meanings is Breitner trying to extract about feminine labor and the material domestic life? Editor: It is intriguing to examine how the composition flattens the pictorial space, with the dress mirroring the patterned seat, echoing back and forth within the frame. It's subtle yet intentional in how we interpret visual cues. Curator: Indeed, it urges us to consider these questions surrounding image-making in Breitner's milieu. What could one glean from his practice? Where did Breitner source his materials and develop them to shape meaning? The relationship of production. Editor: For me, it is less about the manufacturing itself. How the textures come together and form a singular aesthetic is what I consider significant about this photograph. What feeling is invoked? Curator: The photograph is just a microcosm of the rapidly industrializing Amsterdam, rife with inequalities and questions of cultural representation, mass consumerism. I’ve gained a more complex insight of art in social and economical dynamics. Editor: And, looking at the photograph from a formal point of view allows us to appreciate the power of the photograph and what meanings are extracted.
Comments
The photographs in which Breitner recorded his wife exude the tranquil atmosphere of their domestic interior. Marie Jordan was first a model, then the mistress, and later the wife of the famous painter, who was also an amateur photographer. Breitner captured Marie after bathing, with the dog and a cup of tea in her bed, or with the cat in her lap.
Join the conversation
Join millions of artists and users on Artera today and experience the ultimate creative platform.
CollectMore like this
