Portret van een man met baard in colbert met strik c. 1863 - 1870

This is Willem Gerhardus Kuijer's "Portret van een man met baard in colbert met strik," currently held at the Rijksmuseum. The sepia tones and the oval composition create an intimate, almost classical feel, despite the modernity of the sitter's attire. The textures, from the wisps of hair to the soft fabric of the coat, invite a close look at the material qualities of the photograph. Consider how the formal constraints of portraiture are both honored and subtly disrupted here. The man's direct gaze engages us, while the soft focus and muted palette distance him. The sitter's careful arrangement in the frame creates a dialogue between revelation and concealment. It is as if Kuijer invites us to decode not just the man's likeness but also the very act of representation. Ultimately, the photograph functions as a complex interplay of surface and depth, where the material and its representation are inseparable from cultural and philosophical reflections on image-making.