Portret van Kee Meyer 1850s - 1860s

Hermanus Philippus Jacobus Schuiten created this portrait of Kee Meyer sometime in the mid-19th century, using the then-new technology of photography. Considered through the lens of its materiality, this image embodies the industrial revolution's impact on art and society. Photography democratized portraiture, making it accessible beyond the elite. The albumen print process, which was used to create this, involved coating paper with egg white and silver nitrate, then exposing it to light through a negative. This was a huge shift from painted portraiture! The final product is not just an image, but also an artifact of labor, chemistry, and technology. It prompts us to consider how new modes of production and consumption have expanded aesthetic practice, and affected the social order. Schuiten’s photograph isn't just a record of appearance, but an early index of mass visual culture.