Portret van een man met snor en baard 1875 - 1899

This portrait of a man with a moustache and beard was created by Cornand et Cie using photographic processes. The material is a thin, light sensitive emulsion on paper. The photograph is mounted on a card, which would have been a relatively inexpensive way to produce a portrait at the time, in contrast to painting. The photograph offered a mimetic image, and suggests photography democratized portraiture to a wider demographic. It also became a highly industrialized process, with studios mass-producing images. Consider the social context of this portrait. The sitter probably visited the Cornand et Cie studio and paid for this portrait to be taken. The photographer captured a moment in time, carefully posing the sitter to convey a sense of respectability. This brings up questions around identity, representation, and the desire to preserve one's image for posterity. This seemingly simple object shows how photography allowed for new forms of production and consumption, and challenges traditional notions of art. It serves as a reminder of the profound impact of industrialization on artistic expression.