Portretbuste van Joseph Nicéphore Nièpce before 1905

Curator: Let's examine this print, "Portretbuste van Joseph Nicéphore Niépce," from before 1905. Editor: Yes, it’s an academic style portrait of Niépce, probably reproduced using photography, inside a book. It gives off a very formal, almost statuary vibe. What do you see in it? Curator: The way this image is situated within a book about photography draws my eye. It isn't the portrait itself but rather its reproduction, its becoming-print that interests me. Consider the labor involved in the photomechanical processes to disseminate such images. The chemicals, the printing plates, the press itself - they all collaborated to create a 'portrait'. It invites questions about authenticity and mass production in early photography. Editor: I see what you mean. So it's less about Niépce himself and more about how his image became widely available? It makes you think about how photographs become material objects themselves. Curator: Exactly! How are notions of individual artistry disrupted by collaborative industrial practices? Does that challenge traditional "high art" categories? Is this "academic" if it lives in a manual? Editor: Definitely. I always think of art as an individual creation, but you're showing how technology, the materials, and printing processes all become part of the artistic story here, too. Curator: Right! By emphasizing its creation through industrial processes we are shifting from idealizing artistic genius to scrutinizing societal contexts for photographic production and its culture. Editor: Thanks! I've learned so much about how to look past just the image itself and think about the process. Curator: A crucial and essential part of visual education!