Portret van Fernand Doceul 1870 - 1900

Editor: So here we have a daguerreotype, or rather, a photograph of a charcoal drawing dating back to sometime between 1870 and 1900. The piece is called *Portret van Fernand Doceul* by Louis Martin, and Doceul appears to be in uniform. He has such an intent gaze... It almost feels like he is staring right through me! What's your read on this work? Curator: The eyes are the window to the soul, aren't they? Or, at least, that's what we're led to believe. The formal attire certainly sets a tone—a certain seriousness of purpose, perhaps. Given the period, around the late 19th century, one can't help but wonder about the societal pressures, the sense of duty... Photography at that time still possessed an air of formality, of importance. It was meant to record, to preserve, in a way that perhaps even portraiture hadn't done before. But that's where this gets fascinating...the intersection with drawing! Does this capture some essence that would be different without it being photograph of a charcoal? It allows the subject to exist simultaneously as a representation, a likeness, and an artistic interpretation. How do you feel about the photograph/drawing mediation here? Editor: I see your point, and now I think I understand what you mean by “artistic interpretation” beyond representation: because the artwork exists simultaneously through charcoal and photograph, a certain air of the romantic is produced which one doesn’t necessarily feel if it was just one or the other. Also, I just realized something… I have no clue what this guy might have actually done! Curator: Precisely! The technique almost feels like an attempt to hold onto something fleeting, wouldn't you say? We see this soldier... But his interiority is forever closed off. The secrets die with their owner, even though the technology allowed a certain ‘immortalization' by capture. Food for thought, I hope.