Portret van een man, staand bij een sokkel 1860 - 1900

Curator: This is Isidore Démée’s "Portrait of a Man, Standing by a Pedestal," a gelatin silver print made sometime between 1860 and 1900. Editor: There's such an intentional rigidity in the man's posture; the composition really amplifies that. He seems trapped within the formality of the pose, almost staged against the backdrop. Curator: Consider the industrial and chemical processes involved in creating a photograph like this. Gelatin silver prints emerged as a refined technique that shifted photography from the realm of purely artistic to one readily available for mass consumption and documentation. Editor: That makes me think about accessibility, and who this portrait was for. Was this image intended for public consumption, or a private memento for family, asserting social status during an era defined by rigid class structures? This period also saw photography used to create eugenic types… I hope that is not the case. Curator: These photographs depended on very specific labor. It makes one wonder who worked in Démée's studio to produce such an image, and whether their social class intersects with, and is ultimately different from, that of the photograph’s subject. Editor: Absolutely. Thinking about those untold stories, about class and access...it reframes how we read this seemingly straightforward image. And that very somber palette reinforces how race was visualized through portraiture at the time. Curator: Yes, analyzing photographs as artifacts embedded in economic systems gives us tangible evidence of the complex social relations of the era. It also brings to light forgotten stories embedded within what initially may appear simple and straightforward. Editor: Examining Démée’s photograph through these different lenses really pulls the nineteenth century into sharp, and complex focus, making one reflect on today’s social environment.