[Meyer George von Bremen] 1860s

This card photograph of Meyer George von Bremen was made by Heinrich Graf in Berlin. The photographic process itself is key to understanding this image. Unlike painting or sculpture, photography offered a seemingly indexical representation of reality. Consider how the subject is posed, his arms crossed, exuding confidence and perhaps a touch of formality. This was a performance, carefully constructed within the controlled environment of the studio. The sepia tone and the slightly soft focus were typical of the era, contributing to a sense of timelessness, but also indicating the limits of the technology available. The mass production of card photographs democratized portraiture, making it accessible to a wider segment of society. It also created a new kind of labor for the photographer and their assistants. These were the workers who prepared the chemicals, posed the subjects, and printed the images. Thinking about the social and economic context helps us understand the significance of photography as a material practice, and question conventional notions of art making and artistry.