Portret van een onbekende man 1870 - 1887

Editor: We’re looking at "Portret van een onbekende man," a photograph by Philipp Graff, sometime between 1870 and 1887. It strikes me as very…reserved. Victorian, certainly. But almost haunting, like a glimpse into another world. What do you see in it? Curator: Oh, darling, a world! Absolutely. Don’t you feel you could whisper secrets to him and he'd understand? Graff captures this sitter in such a way—the gaze just slightly averted, a hint of a smile… almost conspiratorial, no? I wonder about the untold stories held within that stern exterior. Do you find his stance rigid, or is there a kind of contained energy there for you? Editor: I see the energy you mention. He looks thoughtful, maybe a bit weary. Was this type of portraiture common then? Curator: Massively! Photography was democratising portraiture; making it more accessible beyond the wealthy. Yet it retained that air of solemnity, the 'Sunday best' formality. What secrets *he's* holding behind that pristine white cardboard it’s printed on! Can’t you almost *feel* the weight of an era trying to find its face through his? Editor: It is pretty incredible to see. The man in the image becomes a historical mirror of that period. It almost feels as if he’s communicating, even through the rigid conventions. Curator: Precisely. Even within limitations, isn't there always expression? That's where the real art – and life - peeks through, isn't it, like a stubborn weed growing through concrete!