Portret van een man 1861 - 1874

Editor: This is "Portret van een man," a gelatin-silver print portrait made sometime between 1861 and 1874, attributed to Albert Greiner. It’s striking how tactile it feels despite being a photograph; you can almost feel the texture of his coat. What aspects of the material production stand out to you? Curator: Well, the first thing that jumps out is the context of photographic portraiture at that time. Consider the labor involved in early photography—preparing the chemicals, meticulously posing the subject, the lengthy exposure times. Photography, although seemingly instant to us now, was initially a craft deeply embedded in material processes and dependent on the skilled labor of both the photographer and the sitter. The consumption of photographs became increasingly accessible and common, but they never completely removed manual process. How do the historical methods influence how we think about its reception today? Editor: That makes me think about how different that is from taking a picture on my phone today. Does the use of gelatin-silver particularly highlight some of these labour concerns, relative to other processes? Curator: Absolutely. Gelatin-silver prints involved a specific chemical process dependent on silver halides suspended in gelatin. The sourcing and preparation of these materials were deeply intertwined with industrial production and chemical supply chains of the period. And the gelatin itself, often derived from animal byproducts, points to ethical and consumption questions that might escape our notice. Editor: That's fascinating – I hadn’t considered those layers. Thinking about the chemical process adds such a new layer of understanding! Thanks so much. Curator: Indeed, considering the production and consumption gives us such deeper understandings about our present and future!