[David Hall McKewan] 1860s

Curator: This portrait, rendered in gelatin silver print by John and Charles Watkins around the 1860s, depicts David Hall McKewan. It’s currently held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: It’s a strikingly intimate portrayal, wouldn't you agree? The soft focus gives McKewan an almost ethereal quality. The composition seems very carefully staged around a central focal point: his eyes. Curator: Indeed. Watkins, operating within the constraints of the carte-de-visite format popular then, really plays with the nuances of light and shadow. These photographic portraits became a vital form of social currency. Families exchanged and collected them like modern-day profile pictures. Editor: The use of light is masterful. Observe how the fall of light is carefully sculpted around his features and the high collar creates a frame for the face; but what do you think of the artist using his signature so prominently, in comparison to a possible date or the patron name? Curator: Its interesting to think how the photographers established themself as relevant. By using their signature in contrast to the person being potrayed, perhaps the authors are reclaiming the artistic quality in photography Editor: Exactly. Also, looking closer at McKewan’s beard – there's an intriguing balance between detail and abstraction. Its density, coupled with the blurred edges, gives it almost a sculptural quality, an emphasis on the tactile and materiality. Curator: You bring up an excellent point. Consider also, though, the historical implications of portraiture during this era. This photo isn't merely a physical likeness; it's a deliberate construction of identity. The stiff collar, his reserved expression… Editor: Are signifiers of status and respectability, a performance of Victorian masculinity? Agreed. This also allows us to reflect the sitter personality though, as well as his. It would have required sitting still for some time. Curator: It makes you think of all of us being "frozen" in images today, don't you think? A simple pose but with historical trascendence... It all helps contextualise this particular aesthetic choice in the artwork. Editor: A potent example of how the aesthetic choices in such an artwork reflect its historical moment.