Portret van een man 1875 - 1877

Bernardus Bruining captured this portrait of a man, using photography, sometime in the 19th century. The sitters pose, their clothing, and the very act of commissioning a portrait speaks to the negotiation of identity and status in the 1800s. Photography, then a relatively new medium, offered a novel way to represent oneself and one’s social standing. But who had access to this technology? Who was able to participate in shaping these visual narratives? Consider the male gaze inherent in the history of portraiture, and how that gaze might influence not only who is represented, but how. What does it mean to see a man through the lens of a male photographer during this era? What norms and expectations are being reinforced, and what possibilities for alternative narratives might exist? This photograph captures not just an individual, but a complex web of social, economic, and gendered relations that continue to resonate today.