Portret van Aurélien Scholl 1868

Curator: This is a photographic portrait of Aurélien Scholl, created around 1868. The piece offers a compelling window into the era. Editor: My first thought? Intellectual mischief. He's got that twinkle in his eye, like he knows something you don’t and isn't afraid to use it. Curator: Interesting! Indeed. Aurélien Scholl was a French journalist and writer known for his sharp wit and commentary. This photograph captures not just his likeness but something of his persona. Photographic portraits in the mid-19th century had to negotiate a specific social terrain as they were often commissioned or linked with a particular social status. Editor: Right. And think about the photographic process at the time. It wasn’t instant. So he really had to hold that pose. I wonder what he was thinking, or maybe, what he wanted people to *think* he was thinking! The sepia tones contribute to that sense of staged, thoughtful… defiance, maybe. Curator: The choice of pose and attire – the suit, the bow tie – all speak to the conventions of portraiture designed to convey respectability and seriousness. However, the way Scholl is looking, slightly off-center, conveys an almost subversive intelligence. And I notice he's seated by what appears to be an extensive private library in the background. This surely indicates the sitter’s profession, social milieu, and a conscious positioning within the public imagination. Editor: It does feel like he's putting on a performance. He invites us to decode him. The monacle adds such flair too – slightly eccentric but undeniably confident. A true raconteur, frozen in time but still telling a story. What strikes me is this feels both staged and somehow really intimate, which is an unusual quality for photos from this era. Curator: Absolutely, and through this lens, the photograph serves as a powerful statement about the evolving role of journalism and the rise of the intellectual in shaping public opinion. It's a moment frozen from a time when ideas were gaining new kinds of visibility. Editor: It makes you wonder, doesn't it, about all those untold stories hiding behind the faces in old photos. This one, though, has got me hooked; he dares you to forget him.