Groepsportret van Samen met rendieren 1897

Curator: Let’s spend a moment looking at “Groepsportret van Samen met rendieren” - that translates to "Group Portrait of Sami with Reindeer," captured by Anthon Kalland in 1897. It's a striking photograph. Editor: It's like stepping back in time...or rather, finding a portal to a way of life so different from our own. The monochrome, the stillness of the subjects—it's incredibly evocative. There’s something solemn, almost reverential about it, despite the informality of the gathering. Curator: The image certainly encapsulates a specific moment and cultural context. Sami portraits often served as both ethnographic documentation and personal records, marking a presence and identity amid broader societal changes. The reindeer are especially meaningful, representing a cornerstone of Sami life – sustenance, transport, clothing. They were more than animals, but vital partners. Editor: Absolutely. And you feel that partnership. They're posed together, not as master and beast, but almost as equals sharing a family photo. Those antlers—magnificent, like living sculptures. I also love how they’ve used the rock formation for different height vantage points. Did this image serve a documentary purpose, or something else? Curator: Both, I believe. Commissioned portraits and studio photography offered opportunities for representation largely controlled by the subjects, who took to express themselves and solidify their identities during a period of increasing colonization and cultural shift. These photographic encounters provided a critical space for self-assertion and documenting an existing culture for posterity. Editor: I find myself wondering about their expressions. Stoic? Proud? Resigned? Perhaps it’s impossible for us, so far removed from their lived experience, to truly decipher what they’re conveying, but they stand together, nonetheless, unified by the cold, austere setting and…those amazing reindeer. The longer I look, the more I realize this photograph is a complex narrative distilled into a single frame. Curator: Yes, indeed. Kalland’s photograph leaves a lasting impact, reminding us of the human connection to landscape and animals that persists even amid the most dramatic change. It holds multiple levels of narrative between Sami heritage and colonial representation. Editor: Exactly. It sparks so many threads of thought—culture, identity, environment—all intertwined within one image. And those magnificent reindeer!