Portret van de actrice Betty Hennings als Nora in Een poppenhuis before 1880

Editor: We're looking at an albumen print from before 1880 by J.A. Schulz, titled "Portrait of the Actress Betty Hennings as Nora in A Doll's House". It's preserved in a bound album. It has such a contained, delicate feel... almost like a precious artifact. What grabs you when you look at this? Curator: Oh, that stillness! That posed formality hints at a world far removed from our selfie-obsessed age. You see Betty, transformed, not simply *being* Betty. The gilt embellishments, the theatrical dress – they scream “constructed image”. The whole enterprise whispers to me about the 19th-century obsession with celebrity and representation, the almost desperate need to pin down a fleeting performance. Does she *become* Nora for us? Editor: Definitely, the framing around the photo also calls my attention. In any case it would be really different to see her in a selfie in our modern times! Can you tell me more about that play "A Doll's House?" Curator: Ibsen’s "A Doll's House" shattered theatrical conventions. Nora, seemingly a happy wife and mother, secretly struggles within the confines of her patriarchal marriage. She chooses liberation over societal expectations – a radical act for its time! Now look back at the photograph. Knowing that context, how does Betty's/Nora’s expression strike you? Is it simply the neutral pose demanded by the photographic technology of the era? Or is there a glint of something else in her eyes? Maybe the faint suggestion of a caged bird about to take flight. Editor: Hmmm, I hadn't really thought about it in that light before! The subtle clues definitely add layers to its meaning. The framed image of the photo helps bring those details front and center. It's not *just* a picture; it's a presentation. Curator: Exactly! Each little visual element works to amplify the drama that could only be previously seen live. A great convergence between the artistic form of theater with this new medium to portray the theater representation into paper. And now the stage performance will last longer than any one person.