Portret van een vrouw in een wijde jurk met een boek in de hand 1860 - 1875

Editor: This photograph, "Portret van een vrouw in een wijde jurk met een boek in de hand" by Robert Severin, dates back to between 1860 and 1875. There's something so direct and compelling about her gaze; she looks intelligent, doesn't she? What do you see when you look at this image? Curator: Oh, absolutely! She's got that quiet strength, hasn't she? For me, it's a portal. Imagine, if you will, the very *air* in that photographic studio, thick with anticipation and the scent of chemicals. This was a moment, captured, bottled in time, if you will, and we’re holding it right now. Note her dress, its fullness and texture. That signifies her place, doesn't it? Editor: It speaks of her social status, definitely. What about the book? Curator: The book! Ah, that changes everything, doesn't it? It isn’t just a prop. Look how casually she holds it! Is it a well-loved novel, a philosophical treatise, perhaps poetry? To be seen with a book was a statement about her intellect, her worldliness. And how fantastic, really? In photography we often miss a touch of reality, the grit and honesty of real life. This is why I connect to photographs on such an intrinsic and, well, *human* level. Editor: I hadn't considered that. Now, it makes me think of what she was *thinking*. Curator: Exactly! Don’t you feel it now? What questions are stirring within *her*? It invites us to dream beyond the surface. Editor: It really does! I'll never see these old photographs the same way. Thank you. Curator: My pleasure, absolutely! Always look beyond the pixels!