Portret van een onbekende man in klederdracht van Volendam, Noord-Holland 1860 - 1890

Editor: This is a photograph taken by Andries Jager between 1860 and 1890. It’s a portrait titled "Portret van een onbekende man in klederdracht van Volendam, Noord-Holland," currently residing at the Rijksmuseum. I find it so intriguing – almost anthropological, this need to capture traditional dress. But the man looks so…stiff. What jumps out at you? Curator: Stiff, yes, but also profoundly human, don't you think? He's a puzzle, this man. Look at the directness of his gaze—there’s a real presence there despite the formality. This was, after all, an era obsessed with cataloging "types," with defining identity through costume. What does the Volendam costume tell us – or conceal? Perhaps it's more performance than portrait? Do you think he would wear this on an every day basis? Editor: That's interesting! So, it's less about capturing an individual and more about documenting a cultural image? I hadn't considered that performative aspect. So the subject becomes a symbol of a region. It changes how I see the portrait entirely, especially in photography. Curator: Exactly! Think of those early ethnographic studies, driven by the same urge. Photography lent itself so readily to “objectively” recording these “types.” It's both a treasure and a trap. The details become almost hyper-real: the texture of the woolen clothing, the pattern in his strange little cap. What I like to think about is how the individual may have experienced being turned into a specimen? What would we tell each other about our portrait here today? Editor: It’s made me consider the inherent biases in even seemingly objective forms like photography, and how cultural context shifts our perception so dramatically. Curator: And isn’t that the magic of art – and a good photograph in particular – to open our eyes to those shifting sands of perception. Now, I wonder what stories this chap in the cap could tell…