Portret van een vader met kind 1860 - 1890

Roelof Loots made this photographic portrait of a father and child sometime in the 19th century. It’s a simple albumen print, a process that involves coating paper with egg white and silver nitrate, then exposing it to light through a negative. The muted sepia tones, the delicate textures, these aren't just aesthetic choices; they're direct results of the materials and processes employed. The image-making is connected to the rise of industrial capitalism. Photography offered a new, relatively inexpensive means of capturing likeness, democratizing portraiture in a way that painting never could. The production of photographs in the 1800's, like this portrait, involved careful labor, from preparing the light-sensitive materials to posing the subjects. The photographer, like any other artisan, had to master a specific set of skills. Considering these material and social dimensions allows us to move beyond the simple subject matter of the image, and appreciate the photograph as a cultural artifact.