Verwijderen van een deel van de iris tijdens een oogoperatie before 1873

This photograph, attributed to A. de Montméja, captures a scene of stark precision: the removal of part of the iris during eye surgery. The photograph’s sepia tones and clinical composition create a sense of distance, yet the graphic detail is intensely immediate. Consider the semiotics at play here. The hands, gloved and precise, dominate the composition, tools of science intervening directly with the human body. The eye, central and vulnerable, becomes a focal point not just of the image, but of a nexus of power and knowledge. The formal arrangement—the stark contrast between the soft flesh and hard steel—creates a visual tension that speaks to broader themes of medical intervention and control. The photograph’s unsettling clarity destabilizes traditional notions of the body, inviting us to consider the clinical gaze. The image is both a record and a spectacle, a testament to our evolving understanding and manipulation of the human form.