Portret van een onbekende man c. 1860 - 1905

This portrait of an unknown man was made by Jan Goedeljee, a Dutch photographer active in the late 19th century. It's a salt print, an early photographic process that depended on coating paper in silver chloride. When exposed to light through a negative, the silver darkens to create an image. The material qualities of salt printing - its relative softness, the way it renders light and shadow - made it a popular choice for portraiture. It was a relatively inexpensive way to produce multiple copies, feeding a growing demand for images of loved ones, celebrities, and even oneself. Goedeljee ran a commercial studio, and his livelihood depended on satisfying this demand. Consider the labor involved: preparing the chemicals, coating the paper, posing the sitter, developing the print. This photograph, therefore, is not just a likeness, but a record of a complex social and economic relationship – where the desires of consumers met the skill and labor of a professional photographer.