Portret van een jongen met bril 1882 - 1894

Editor: This gelatin silver print, “Portret van een jongen met bril”, or “Portrait of a boy with glasses” by Jacques Chits, seems like a candid glimpse into the late 19th century. The boy's gaze feels so direct, almost piercing. What catches your eye about this piece? Curator: Ah, isn’t it enchanting? It pulls you in, doesn't it? To me, this isn't just a photograph, it's a tiny time capsule. Imagine the sitter—what was on his mind as he sat there? What dreams was he incubating, all swaddled up tight within the confines of childhood and expectation? You almost wonder if the very act of being photographed instilled the gravity. Don't you think he seems old beyond his years? Editor: Absolutely. He looks so serious. But also a bit…vulnerable, perhaps? Was portrait photography common then? Curator: Precisely. Photography democratized portraiture. No longer was having your likeness rendered a privilege of the aristocracy. Photography let those further down the ladder climb towards visibility, in turn shaping our collective historical gaze. Have you noticed the subtle imperfections, almost like wisps of a memory surfacing? These weren't erased but accepted, offering a tactile immediacy that feels very contemporary to my eye, do you feel the same? Editor: I hadn't thought about it like that, but I see what you mean. The imperfections give it so much character. Curator: That very visible, almost palpable link to the past is like time dust swirling. Each viewing unearths another layer of history. And it subtly reminds us we were all awkward kids once, standing at that precipice on the border between then and now. Editor: I’ll never look at old photographs the same way. Thank you! Curator: The pleasure was all mine! Isn't it magnificent how one image can unravel such a complex tapestry of thought and emotion?