Portret van een man met bakkebaarden 1860 - 1880

Franz Wilhelm Deutmann captured this portrait of a man with sideburns using the albumen print process, a popular photographic technique in the 19th century. This involved coating paper with a layer of egg white and then sensitizing it with silver nitrate. The inherent qualities of the albumen print give the image its distinctive sepia tone and smooth surface. To create this portrait, Deutmann would have used a large format camera, carefully focusing the lens and exposing the sensitized paper to light. The resulting latent image was then developed and fixed, producing a positive print. This technique highlights the cultural significance of early photography, a process that democratized portraiture, making it accessible to a wider segment of society. The labor involved in producing albumen prints – from preparing the paper to developing the image – reflects the intersection of art, science, and commerce in the 19th century. By considering the materials, making, and context, we gain a deeper understanding of the work.