Portret van een onbekende man met twee kinderen 1855 - 1885

Editor: This is a fascinating albumen print titled "Portret van een onbekende man met twee kinderen," dating from sometime between 1855 and 1885 by John George Kirby. I find the photograph hauntingly beautiful in its simplicity and aged quality. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The cultural memory embedded within this image is striking. It presents an icon of Victorian family values and yet the subjects’ expressions seem to resist a simple narrative. Do you notice the contrast in their gazes? The children avoid direct eye contact, a common but curious feature of early photography. It’s suggestive, perhaps, of a discomfort, a self-consciousness in the act of being represented. Editor: I do, and there's a melancholy feel because of it, almost as if the sitters are not present. Does this photography bear other historical context to add on to it? Curator: Absolutely. The stiffness and formality would have been understood then as markers of respectability and social positioning. Consider the weight of these symbols; clothing, posture and composition serving as public declarations. We may now view the past with very different eyes and with a strong sense of loss for a different era. The photograph captures the tension of projecting an image. What I keep pondering about it, what are we seeing versus what are we meant to see? Editor: This offers a richer way to look at photography! Thanks for the insight! Curator: My pleasure! It is images like this that compel me to continue exploring symbols and finding greater cultural meaning!