Portret van Benjamin Disraeli before 1884

This photographic portrait of Benjamin Disraeli, later Earl of Beaconsfield, was made in London sometime in the 19th century. It was included in a book entitled ‘Memorable Men of the Nineteenth Century’, and through that title we can begin to understand how this image worked within the visual culture of its time. The portrait presents Disraeli as a figure of authority and intellect. His clothing and demeanor suggest someone of high social standing. Photography, as a relatively new technology, played a crucial role in shaping public perceptions of political figures. Disraeli’s career benefited from the rise of mass media and the increasing importance of image in politics. To understand this image further, one might look at other portraits of political figures from the period, and at the ways in which photography was used to construct and disseminate particular ideas about national identity and leadership. This is how we begin to understand the public role of art and the politics of imagery.