General Giroflor after 1858

Curator: Immediately, it feels weighty. Like a daguerreotype of power itself, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Indeed. This is "General Giroflor" by Antoine Samuel Adam-Salomon. The image, a photograph at Harvard Art Museums, is a study in the trappings of authority. Look at the column, the medals...it’s all carefully constructed. Curator: I feel his gaze, almost a challenge, through the sepia tones. And I wonder about the sheer volume of wool in that uniform. What stories it could tell! Editor: And the stories of the laborers, too, who wove it! Those details are vital; this image normalizes the social order—clothing production, photography studios, portraiture—it all speaks to an industry built around power. Curator: Perhaps. But I see a man attempting to capture a moment, hoping to be seen in a certain light. Maybe it’s vanity, maybe it’s more. It’s just...human, I think. Editor: It’s easy to forget, isn’t it, the labor and materials inherent in the making of an image. But ultimately, this photograph, like so many of its time, is a record of its own making. Curator: Yes, and in its own strange way, I also find it beautiful.