Portret van een jongen 1860 - 1880

This is a portrait of a young man, made by Woodbury & Page. The photographic print is an albumen silver print, a process that was widely used in the 19th century for its sharpness and detail. The process involves coating paper with a layer of albumen from egg whites, then sensitizing it with silver nitrate. The negative is then placed on the prepared paper, and exposed to light, creating a detailed image. Consider the social context: photography emerged as a powerful tool of documentation and representation, but also of colonial power. The making of a portrait like this was often an act of cultural exchange, with the photographer capturing the likeness of a person from a different cultural background. How much control did the sitter have over the image made of him? The very act of posing for a photograph involved labor, both on the part of the photographer and the sitter. Understanding the materials and processes involved in creating this photograph allows us to consider the complex social and cultural dynamics at play in its making.