Portret van een man met snor 1899 - 1920

Curator: Here we have a piece titled "Portret van een man met snor," which roughly translates to "Portrait of a man with a mustache". The piece is dated between 1899 and 1920 and is credited to H.J. Tollens. Editor: Mmm, my first impression is just… solid. Sturdy. Look at the crisp lines of his mustache and bow tie. This man just *knows*. Curator: Indeed, the formality is quite striking. Portraiture of this era often served as a way for individuals to project a specific image of themselves to the world. How do you feel the portrait achieves this effect, editor? Editor: Well, look at how framed this shot is, inside this dark square and the lighter oval inside it. He seems to be in his element and there is a formality to him. It feels very posed and official, right? Curator: It absolutely does. And look closer at the details of the card itself. You have that information about H.J. Tollens along the bottom, which is most likely a professional photography company working at the time in a place called Dordrecht, it looks like. Editor: Like the late 19th century equivalent of a school picture, haha. One could imagine dozens just like this one lining the halls of houses for years. So in a sense, this isn’t about him as a person but this tradition of commemoration and image-making in general? Curator: Precisely! The proliferation of photography allowed for wider access to portraiture, transforming how people documented themselves and their families. Photography shifted power toward representation. It used to only be the richest citizens in a community who had their likeness shown like this. But how do you see that playing out with this image, looking at it? Editor: Looking at him as I am, this particular example also embodies that burgeoning bourgeois, doesn’t he? Very controlled. Solid like I said. I can see that being very empowering. Curator: It certainly speaks to the societal aspirations of the time. I see both the subject and the very medium through which he presents himself enmeshed within networks of social power, which still impact us today. Editor: So we can ask ourselves what we choose to photograph and immortalize today to capture the future's attention? Curator: Exactly. Food for thought!