Portret van een man en vrouw 1867 - 1898

Curator: How interesting, an albumen print! Editor: Yes! This is "Portret van een man en vrouw," by A. Antonius, made sometime between 1867 and 1898. The sepia tones are quite striking, and it feels like a peek into the past. What's your take? Curator: Let's think about the materials. What does the use of albumen – egg white – to bind the image to the paper tell us about the means of photographic production at that time? Was photography accessible, or was it an industry shaped by specialized knowledge and materials? Editor: I imagine that albumen printing must have required a good understanding of chemistry, at least, but surely became more democratized over time, right? How would an emphasis on materials challenge the distinction between ‘high art’ and common portraiture? Curator: Precisely! This process speaks to the value of the final piece as both documentation of the sitter’s lives and those who did the labour. Were they from the upper-middle class to have afforded photography services at this time, who probably benefitted from their status to pose for this ‘domestic scene’? Do you think this work transcends the commercial constraints of studio photography of its time? Editor: Well, seeing it this way shifts my perspective. It becomes less about the aesthetics of the final image and more about understanding the historical and economic conditions that allowed it to be created. So the content here can’t be separated from context... Curator: Exactly. By examining the labour and materials involved, we can critically evaluate photography’s impact on culture. Editor: Thank you. Now I will definitely look at photographic prints, especially older ones, in a very different way!