Portret van een man met snor in uniform 1872 - 1904

This is a portrait of a man with a mustache in uniform, made by Jean Varenne in the 19th century. It’s a photograph, one of the great innovations that changed portraiture forever. Before photography, portraits were the domain of painting and sculpture, available only to the wealthy. The rise of photographic processes allowed for images to be widely and cheaply disseminated. Suddenly, even an ordinary soldier could have his likeness captured and circulated. Consider the material reality of this photograph. The chemicals, the paper, the lens: all products of industrial manufacture. And reflect on the labor involved: not just the photographer’s, but that of countless workers in factories and darkrooms, all contributing to this democratizing force. The photograph becomes not just a portrait, but a material document of a changing world. So, next time you see an old photograph, remember to look beyond the image itself, and consider the complex web of processes, people, and technologies that brought it into being. In doing so, we can gain a deeper understanding of both the subject and the society that produced it.