Reproductie van een foto van een portret van Georges de Baillet-Latour before 1858

This reproduction of a photographic portrait by Henri Borremans presents Georges de Baillet-Latour in an open book. Executed in monochrome, the portrait’s composition emphasizes a tension between the two-dimensional surface and the illusion of three-dimensional space. The tonal gradations meticulously model Baillet-Latour’s features, drawing attention to the formal structure of his face and attire. The contrast between the portrait and the printed text on the facing page invites us to consider the interplay between image and text, representation and reality. This juxtaposition destabilizes the conventional notion of portraiture as a direct, unmediated depiction of an individual. The materiality of the reproduction, embedded within the book's pages, suggests a semiotic system where the subject is encoded through both visual and linguistic signs. Ultimately, it prompts us to question the construction of identity through representation and the ways in which reproductions mediate our understanding of historical figures.