Portret van een onbekende man 1892 - 1915

Curator: Here we have "Portret van een onbekende man" (Portrait of an Unknown Man), created sometime between 1892 and 1915, held here at the Rijksmuseum. It's a gelatin-silver print by Franz Eiffert, a perfect encapsulation of that era’s portraiture style. Editor: He looks a bit… stern, doesn't he? Like he's waiting for me to finish my vegetables. There’s a certain seriousness to him that feels both distant and intimate at the same time. It's that 'gelatin-silver-print' effect maybe; the tone gives it a very specific era feeling, which is heightened by the subject’s old-timey mustache. Curator: The rise of photography coincided with new ideas about individuality and representation. Daguerreotypes and later these gelatin prints allowed for the democratization of portraiture. Suddenly, the middle class could possess images of themselves, shaping their own legacies. It's fascinating to consider who this unknown man was and what he might have wanted to project in this image. Editor: Legacies are curious, aren’t they? Like he had expectations riding on this photo. Did he get married, go to war? Was this supposed to impress someone? It all just hangs in the air. The lighting is also doing so much work here: it sculpts his face like a monument, accentuating the rigid set of his jaw. Curator: Yes, and Eiffert worked as a studio photographer, making his living documenting everyday people in Amsterdam. He occupied a specific role in constructing social memory. His studio was one of the prominent places for citizens to present their desired self-image. The portraits would’ve followed fairly standardized formulas in order to meet audience expectation. Editor: Do you think that the constraints actually helped him? It's like painting in black and white only... limits becoming artistic fuel? Maybe within the expectations, he managed to still let… something… shine. Or, he could just be posing like he always does… Who knows! Curator: That tension between individuality and social norms is, I think, exactly what makes this photo so captivating. This unknown man becomes a canvas on which we project our own questions and ideas. Editor: It really sparks curiosity, and to give such presence, as an artist, that’s a powerful legacy in itself!