Fotoreproductie van In familie III: Het kind door Antoine Wiertz before 1868

This is Edmond Fierlants’ photographic reproduction of Antoine Wiertz’s painting “In familie III: Het kind”. The print uses a monochromatic palette that encourages us to focus on form and composition. The photograph is structured around a clear division of space: a dark, densely shaded background versus the lighter, more open foreground. The figures are arranged on a horizontal plane, creating a balanced, almost classical tableau. The contrast in tonal range gives shape to the folds of the women’s dresses and sculpts the child’s sleeping form. Fierlants’ photograph invites us to consider the semiotics of reproduction. How does the photographic medium alter our perception of Wiertz’s original painted symbolism? The shift in medium affects the artwork's aura, challenging the traditional hierarchy between original artwork and copy. The print's formal qualities—its balance and play of light and shadow—become tools for re-evaluating cultural codes around originality, challenging our understanding of art’s function and value in a world of mechanical reproduction.