Portret van een man met een wit boord en een jas 1881 - 1887

Curator: Jacques Chits created this gelatin-silver print between 1881 and 1887. It's titled, "Portret van een man met een wit boord en een jas," or "Portrait of a Man with a White Collar and a Coat." Editor: What strikes me immediately is the earnestness. There's a vulnerability in his gaze that is both touching and a bit unsettling. It speaks of a certain era, doesn’t it? Curator: It does. Portrait photography at this time was becoming increasingly democratized, but it also maintained a formal air. This image exists within a fascinating cultural moment. Consider the rise of photography studios and how they served a burgeoning middle class seeking to capture their likenesses and present a carefully constructed image of themselves to society. Editor: Yes, but even within that formal structure, the symbol of the "white collar" suggests a sort of striving. Cleanliness, respectability... These were potent virtues in the late 19th century. It’s not just clothing, but rather an icon of social aspiration. Curator: Precisely. And it’s also essential to understand the context in which such portraits circulated. They were often kept in albums, tokens of family ties, and social connections. Looking closer, the photograph's physical support and how it ages carries historical meaning about the sitter. Editor: Right. There's also a subtle melancholy to the sepia tones. It evokes a sense of memory, loss, and the passage of time. His buttoned jacket is the color of soil. Earth. Death. It is like an artifact from a bygone era filled with long forgotten sentiments. Curator: Or even something as seemingly simple as the ornate border surrounding the photo—this kind of embellishment enhanced its perceived value, placing it as something precious and worth keeping. This type of aesthetic and its intended message are all crucial to this era’s visual rhetoric. Editor: I suppose what I’m seeing reflected in this photographic artifact is a quest for immortality and a somber understanding of its futility. Curator: Absolutely. So much meaning is communicated through this framed realism. Looking at his earnest visage within this visual time capsule gives one an interesting insight into that cultural and photographic epoch. Editor: A face in amber. Poignant and lovely.