Portret van een onbekende man 1857 - 1882

Editor: This is a gelatin-silver print, titled "Portret van een onbekende man," dating somewhere between 1857 and 1882, by Charles Lemoine. It feels incredibly formal, almost staged. What strikes you when you look at this photograph? Curator: Immediately, I'm drawn to the question of anonymity and representation within photographic portraiture of this period. We see the sitter carefully posed, likely to project a certain social standing through dress and comportment, but stripped of his name. Who had the privilege of being remembered, and who was relegated to “unknown”? How does this dynamic reflect the power structures of the time, and what narratives are silenced by the absence of identity? Editor: That's interesting, I hadn't considered the anonymity itself as part of the message. Curator: Consider the proliferation of photography during this era. It was becoming more accessible, yes, but access wasn't equal. Think about who commissioned portraits and why. A portrait was often a tool of social mobility, reinforcing gendered norms, or projecting power. By not knowing the sitter’s name, aren't we invited to interrogate the societal structures that shaped the very act of portraiture, and thus the way the individual wanted to be seen, and remembered? How might we challenge the narratives of history through understanding who gets represented, and how? Editor: So it's less about the man himself, and more about what his presence—or lack of a named presence—says about the society he lived in? Curator: Precisely! It allows us to question the limitations and biases inherent in historical records and the construction of historical narratives. It makes us reflect on who has the power to control the narrative. Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't really thought of. I guess every portrait tells a story, even when we don't know all the details. Curator: And sometimes, especially when we don't know all the details.