Portret van een meisje, genaamd Wally Musch, anderhalf jaar oud 1890 - 1910

This is a photographic portrait of a one-and-a-half-year-old girl named Wally Musch, produced by Christiaan Benjamin Nieuwenhuis. The dominant feature is the silver frame that immediately commands attention. Two dragons frame the photo, one descends from the upper left, the other rises from the lower right. Consider the structural interplay between the photographic image and its ornate frame. The photograph, with its tonal range and soft focus, captures a moment of domestic intimacy. Conversely, the silver frame is striking and imposing. It doesn't merely support the photograph; it actively engages with it. The dragons are signs of power, mystery, and the exotic; they serve as cultural codes which may have informed the artwork's making and reception. The sharp relief of the dragon against the smooth silver suggests a desire to destabilize established meanings. It is up to us to decode the artwork's ongoing interpretations.