Portret van een man met een snor c. 1864 - 1890

Editor: Here we have “Portret van een man met een snor,” or Portrait of a Man with a Moustache, an albumen print from roughly 1864 to 1890, attributed to Wegner & Mottu, housed in the Rijksmuseum. It’s… very brown. It's aged, of course, but I'm curious, what’s your perspective on this seemingly simple portrait? Curator: Beyond the subject matter itself, consider the materials: the albumen print process. Eggs! Think about the labor involved. Someone had to produce the albumen, then painstakingly coat the paper, expose it, and develop it. It’s a delicate chemical dance. And the "carte de visite" format -- small, reproducible, easily traded and collected. It democratized portraiture. Why do you think these portraits were so popular? Editor: So, not just a portrait, but a commodity. The mass production element is fascinating. I guess it made portraits accessible to a broader segment of the population than painted portraits ever could. A sort of, pre-digital 'profile pic'. Curator: Exactly. We must also ask who had access to this technology, and whose likeness was preserved because of it. Consider who profits from portraiture then and now, and at whose expense? Think of photography studios – their economic structures, the lives of the photographers and their staff. Editor: So even a seemingly simple portrait opens a door to thinking about material conditions, labour, and economics. It's so much more than just a face. Curator: Precisely. Every photograph carries traces of the material and social forces that made it possible. Recognizing that, you see the portrait anew.