Portret van een (vermoedelijk) Nederlandse militair, staand

This portrait of a soldier was created by Theodorus Ferdinant van de Pol using photographic processes. In the late nineteenth century, photography offered new ways of picturing the self. The production of these images relied on a complex division of labor – from the sourcing of light-sensitive materials, to the operation of large-format cameras, to the careful development of prints in the darkroom. The subject’s crisp military uniform, complete with a decorative trim, is thrown into sharp relief by the tonal gradations achieved through the photographic process. The result is an intimate portrait of a man embedded in the industrial-military complex of his time. Considering photography as a process allows us to appreciate the social and economic forces at play in its production, and provides valuable context to the subject of the portrait itself.