Portret van een staande jongen met hoge hoed in de hand 1867 - 1875

Ladislas Straszak created this portrait of a boy holding a top hat using the 19th-century photographic technique of Albumen silver print. This process, developed in 1850, involved coating a sheet of paper with albumen from egg whites and silver nitrate, then exposing it to light through a negative. The resulting print has a distinctive sepia tone and a smooth, glossy surface, giving the boy a soft, almost ethereal appearance. Consider the labor involved: raising chickens, collecting eggs, preparing the chemicals. It’s a world away from digital photography. The high hat, a sartorial symbol of the middle and upper classes, adds to the story of this moment in time. The photograph, like the hat, implies a certain level of social status. Photography democratized portraiture, but the cost still meant it was reserved for certain echelons of society. Appreciating the material reality and the making of this image allows us to consider the social context, and the aspirations it embodies.