Portret van een zittende jongeman met een pet op tafel 1871 - 1873

Curator: This is "Portret van een zittende jongeman met een pet op tafel," taken between 1871 and 1873. Abraham Adrianus Vermeulen captured this photograph, now held at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: He looks so serious, doesn't he? A very formal, almost melancholic mood. And the dark tones throughout—it gives such gravity to this genre-painting-like composition in photography. Curator: The composition and those tones underscore its social function. This would have been commissioned, part of a burgeoning industry of portraiture available to a rising middle class eager to emulate the symbols of established power. Notice the inclusion of his cap on the table next to him: perhaps signalling an aspirational rank? Editor: Right, like visual shorthand for status. I also see that even the pose signals control; this posture and attire seem deliberately staged. Curator: Photography was also understood as an indexical medium, lending veracity and capturing detail—we feel like we can really ‘know’ him. The meticulous details, the fabric textures and details on the cap: all signs of authenticity and even an insight into his possible station in life and social environment. Editor: Although photography provided this 'truth,' what about the truth *he* wanted to project? What do you make of the tassel in the backdrop? A staged photo to mimic a more opulent lifestyle. Curator: Precisely! So photography could also reinforce social standing. The subject’s presentation – from his carefully styled hair and beard to his serious gaze – speaks volumes about how this man wished to be perceived. He is consciously performing respectability, anchoring himself to established visual languages. Editor: This reminds us that even what we take as photographic ‘realism’ is carefully curated by the sitter and shaped by the social contexts around photography itself. He almost becomes a type, reflecting wider social currents. Curator: Indeed. Photography's complex social history illuminates not just an individual but the collective aspirations of an era. This portrait gives us the impression of how one wishes to show oneself within society and its power structures.