Twee groepsportretten van Loentje Onnen met vrienden Possibly 1910 - 1914

Curator: This fascinating album page features two gelatin silver print photographs, group portraits entitled "Twee groepsportretten van Loentje Onnen met vrienden", attributed to Carolina (Loentje) Frederika Onnen and dated from possibly 1910 to 1914. Editor: My immediate impression is that the photographs seem like a ghostly recall, their tonal range barely visible with indistinct shapes, like fading memories tethered by composition. The hazy tonality of the photograph almost threatens to disappear entirely, fading into obscurity if you give them enough time to gather dust. Curator: These photographs present a candid snapshot of friendship during the early 20th century, wouldn’t you say? Loentje’s intent probably was capturing those she kept closest to herself as the world around her changed drastically. It is intimate, informal. The slight sepia tones speak to its time. Editor: While they indeed evoke the spirit of early 20th century portraiture, their form intrigues me. Look closely, and you'll notice the careful structuring despite the candid impression—each individual placed in precise relation to one another and with some focus in tonality. Curator: That’s astute, and while these women conform to certain poses dictated by social conventions of the era, there's an individuality here. Do you notice it in their gaze? These young ladies gaze confidently in to the camera while positioned, yet slightly awkward like it wasn't rehearsed at all, almost raw. Perhaps they are posing in the public while remaining truthful about who they are. Editor: I see them like temporal anchors—frozen points along time that retain texture and composition of a moment never to be recovered. Yet its form, light, balance, shape, all carry an interesting and new conversation even today as we admire it here. Curator: This work then really reveals the personal becoming historical; doesn't it? A beautiful meditation on sociality as frozen by photography’s indexical qualities. Editor: Indeed. It offers a compelling reminder how images, simple and understated, offer endless complexities that connect lived experiences into our cultural memory.