Portret van een man met snor 1874 - 1887

Editor: Here we have a charming albumen print from the late 19th century, "Portret van een man met snor," by Albert Greiner. There's a formality, but also a kind of… quiet observation about it, wouldn’t you say? What catches your eye about this portrait? Curator: The intimacy, definitely! Photography at this time, whilst gaining traction, still felt very…ceremonial, even serious. But I look at this man's eyes and, even in profile, there's a spark of something familiar. Almost a glint of mischief, maybe? The framing also hints at a broader story; encased within an album, like a pressed flower, the man becomes more object than human in our gaze. Don't you feel that? A slight disconnect. It’s funny. It's there, preserved like that! As if his family really didn't ever want him to be gone! So odd when you come to think about it like that. What do you think? Editor: Yes, I see what you mean. It’s almost like a captured moment within a larger narrative – he looks so stiff posed, like a beetle in resin! He looks very stylish; would his moustache denote any significance to the meaning of the image? Curator: Perhaps status or aspiration – but isn’t it wonderful that such mundane information can, at a moment like this, transcend. Isn't he fabulous looking? What status symbols mean anyway?! Just stuff at the end of the day, eh! Ha! What I do know is his gaze out of shot shows that Albert Greiner managed to grab his attention! Just great. Editor: It's intriguing to consider those fleeting expressions and what they might reveal about both the sitter and the photographer! This has opened my eyes on what portraiture is about. Curator: Absolutely, darling. Art helps us connect the threads of history in our own fabulous human way. Just remember...Art imitates Life. So live large so they make great paintings of your memories when you kick the bucket!