Portret van een onbekende Groningse student in maskeradekostuum 1886 - 1897

Curator: Here we have "Portrait of an Unknown Groningen Student in Masquerade Costume," a gelatin-silver print created sometime between 1886 and 1897 by Berend Mulder. The sepia tone lends it an air of nostalgia, doesn’t it? Editor: Indeed. It strikes me as playful, almost theatrical, but also quite formal. The masquerade costume seems meticulously constructed. The choice to pose beside that elaborate cabinet and the assortment of items arranged on the table speak to someone putting on a show, performing identity. Curator: Exactly. Think about the burgeoning photography industry then. Studios popping up, promising affordable portraits, changing the way identity was recorded and circulated. And the carte-de-visite format! Small, easily reproduced, and collected... This wasn’t just about having a portrait; it was about crafting an image. Editor: And I find myself wondering, who was this student, and what performances were they engaged in? It’s likely the masquerade connected with student societies, where one might have donned historical garb, embracing a moment of theatricality to blur and perform gender and class. Consider what adopting that identity did for this student at this precise historical moment. Curator: Let’s look at the materials. The tangible photographic paper, the chemicals, the studio props – even the fabric of the costume, likely sourced and assembled specifically for this event and photo-op – highlight the performative *making* of this image. We must appreciate how materials mediate meaning. Editor: Precisely! These sartorial and theatrical elements create a powerful narrative. The way historical garb connects with Dutch Golden Age paintings gives this photo-portrait an iconic character. Yet, beyond historical pastiche, it makes you think about who is excluded or underrepresented in these kinds of representations and how class, social power and sexuality are often masked or subverted through masquerade. Curator: Agreed, this single image gives insight into the intersection of social life, economics, and personal aspiration in a period of profound social change. I’m captivated by the studio’s material traces and how it informs this study in photographic portraiture. Editor: I concur! The photo, which is full of youthful ambition and a need to be seen in the public sphere, remains strikingly alive today as we reflect on it.