Portret van fotograaf en aristocraat Benedykt Tyszkiewicz 1880s - 1890s

Editor: Here we have a portrait, thought to be from the 1880s or 1890s, titled "Portret van fotograaf en aristocraat Benedykt Tyszkiewicz," by Wilhelm Benque. It's an albumen print. I'm immediately struck by the richness of textures, from the fur hat to the elaborate chain. What's your take? Curator: Well, let's think about this object as a commodity. Benque’s studio, printed right there at the bottom, served a clientele eager for these portraits. Aristocrats such as Tyszkiewicz weren’t just sitters; they were patrons, participants in a burgeoning culture of photographic self-representation. This albumen print, what does it tell us about the means of production available at the time, about photographic technology and how it shaped social status? Editor: So, it's less about artistic expression, more about documenting a certain social class through this...technology of the time? Curator: Exactly! The choice of albumen—derived from egg whites—speaks volumes about the labour involved. Think about the sheer quantity of eggs, the process of coating the paper, and the skilled darkroom workers needed for this specific kind of image creation. It raises questions about the social and economic structures behind the veneer of aristocratic privilege on display here. Editor: That’s a perspective shift for sure. I hadn't considered all the unseen labor. Curator: It makes you wonder how sitters like Tyszkiewicz viewed this process and what role these portraits played in his own self-fashioning and public perception, doesn't it? Editor: Definitely. Now I’m seeing this as more than just a portrait; it's an artifact embedded in layers of economic and social relationships. Curator: Precisely. Materiality offers such compelling lenses through which to understand the social fabric of art.