Portret van een oude vrouw met muts 1865 - 1887

Curator: Here we have "Portret van een oude vrouw met muts," or "Portrait of an Old Woman with a Bonnet," created sometime between 1865 and 1887 by Jan George Mulder. It’s an albumen print, part of a photographic album. Editor: There's something so vulnerable about this portrait, isn’t there? The soft light and faded sepia tones make her look like a memory. A whisper of a life lived. Curator: Absolutely. It reflects the conventions of portraiture at the time, but also gives glimpses into the subject's identity. I am intrigued by the way women were often represented within a constrained patriarchal framework during the Victorian era. This photographic genre could act as a carefully constructed performance of femininity and status. Editor: I feel such a pull towards her face—that is a knowing gaze she's got! Do you think it was taken because of societal expectations for women, or could it have been just because of wanting to hold onto some kind of family memory? Curator: In this period, photography democratized portraiture, making it accessible beyond the elite. It became intertwined with mourning practices. Perhaps this portrait, with its muted tones, functions as both a commemorative object and an assertion of social standing within that visual economy. Editor: Ah, you are right. I'd assumed because of her simple bonnet and direct stare that it must be the kind of sentimental piece one makes when someone passes or as an expression of identity... It does evoke sentiments of both remembrance and presence. The detail with which it captured everything feels intensely private; the wrinkles and softness of her features feel so fragile somehow. Curator: Exactly. As we consider the historical context and technical aspects alongside the woman’s presence, it lets us understand how complex her self representation in Victorian society must have been. Editor: So beautiful. This conversation opened up another point of view for me. The dialogue with the work has really enhanced the sensitivity I now have with "Portret van een oude vrouw met muts”.