Portret van een onbekende man, achterstevoren zittend op een stoel 1870 - 1872

This portrait was made by Gerardus Wilhelmus Kerremans, using photographic processes. Photography, emerging in the 19th century, offered new ways of capturing likeness, but it also mirrored existing social hierarchies. The sitter, in his suit and bow-tie, clearly aspired to upward mobility; we might even say he adopted a somewhat defiant posture. Photography was never a purely mechanical process. Each image involved labor and choices – from posing the sitter to developing the image with the appropriate chemicals. This image, printed on a card, would have been an affordable luxury, yet still involved the work of both photographer and subject. So, remember, when looking at an old photograph like this, it is not just a record of the past, but a material product that speaks to broader social and economic conditions.