Man in een tuin, vermoedelijk in Rome 1851 - 1868

Laurens Lodewijk Kleijn made this photograph, ‘Man in a Garden, presumably in Rome,’ using a photographic negative. We can locate Kleijn within a tradition of nineteenth-century European artists who traveled to Italy, drawn by its classical past and picturesque landscapes. This image stages a similar encounter. Yet, by employing the relatively new medium of photography, Kleijn democratized both the Grand Tour and portraiture. The photograph invites us to consider the sitter's identity. Positioned between the cultivated garden and the wilder landscape, he embodies a certain mastery over nature, accentuated by his formal attire. Is he a tourist, an artist, or perhaps an expatriate? The image hints at the complex relationship between the individual, their social identity, and the allure of a foreign land. It captures a moment of self-fashioning but stops short of revealing any deeper connection to the place or its people.