Portret van een jonge vrouw met sjaal om de hals 1882 - 1884

Editor: This is Nicolaas Jelles van Ulsen’s "Portret van een jonge vrouw met sjaal om de hals", or "Portrait of a Young Woman with a Scarf" made between 1882 and 1884. It's a gelatin silver print and gives me this incredibly melancholic feeling. What pulls you in when you look at it? Curator: Ah, yes, there's a haunting quality, isn't there? What strikes me is the direct gaze, almost defiant, yet vulnerable. The way the light catches the beads on her scarf, like captured tears, and pools in the dark fabric of her coat. She reminds me of characters in old daguerreotypes I've seen. Doesn’t the photographic process itself feel almost… ghostly, a fleeting attempt to freeze time? It’s as if Van Ulsen isn't just capturing her image but, in some way, something of her spirit too. What do you think about the composition and its mood? Editor: That makes sense. The composition has a formality and reserve and seems less about presenting beauty and more about just marking existence. The light certainly contributes to this solemn effect. Curator: Exactly! The framing of her face – oval within a rectangle – feels constricting, like societal expectations perhaps? I imagine the sittings were rather serious and it makes me consider the young woman's hopes, dreams, what occupied her thoughts as she posed? What story do you imagine she would tell about her life? Editor: That's really interesting. It's made me appreciate how much thought goes into a photograph. It's not just clicking a button. Now I imagine all of these hidden emotions behind it. Curator: It’s like archaeology, isn’t it? Layer upon layer of intention, history, and then our own projections on top. Wonderful! Thanks for sharing the work with me, I am always taken in by the old gelatin prints like these. They have so much to offer, to trigger in our own mind.