Portret van een onbekende man 1885 - 1890

Curator: Let’s discuss this portrait, created between 1885 and 1890 by Mathias Korn. The artwork, titled "Portret van een onbekende man," is an albumen print, a popular photographic process of the time. Editor: He appears stoic, doesn’t he? Perhaps even slightly melancholy. There’s something reserved about the downward cast of his eyes and the tightness of his mouth. Curator: I am struck by how the photographer utilizes the albumen process. Note the soft tonal gradations and how they contribute to the formal composition. The high contrast and subtle blending create a refined effect. Editor: I find myself questioning the power dynamics inherent in portraiture of this era. This is likely a commissioned piece, highlighting the sitter’s access to wealth and the technology of photography, so it seems very much a portrait of bourgeois male identity. Curator: Precisely. This type of portrait became accessible to the rising middle class as photography advanced, which allowed for new methods of memorialization and ways of proclaiming one’s place in society. Notice, too, how the vignetting focuses our attention. The soft blur around the edges forces you to lock eyes with the sitter. Editor: That makes me think about the lack of biographical context—the sitter is simply identified as “an unknown man.” It positions him, and so many others who are never written into the historical record, as spectral figures of that era. A reminder of whose stories get told, and whose remain absent from the archive. Curator: True. Even still, by examining the artistry and structure present here, we gain insights into the societal and cultural values reflected within portraiture of the era. Editor: Yes, and perhaps even more so into who we omit when writing those structures into history. What absences do they illuminate? Curator: That's something to continue considering, thank you. Editor: Of course. It’s all connected, wouldn’t you say?