Portret van Mr. Baillet

This photograph, "Portret van Mr. Baillet" was taken by Riccardo Marzocchini, who lived between 1843 and 1910. Photographs like these were often commissioned to solidify one's social standing. The man’s carefully groomed mustache, tie and suit, and the very act of sitting for a photograph are all markers of bourgeois respectability. But the very conventions of this portrait—its attempt to convey dignity and seriousness—also tell us about the rigid expectations of masculinity at the time. Think about what is not shown. Where is his family? What labor allows him to be this well-dressed? The photograph is both a record and a performance, telling us as much about what it hides as what it reveals. Consider how the desire to present a certain image shapes not just photographs but also the lives we lead.