Untitled (Portrait of a Reclined Man on the left; Portrait of a Man and a Woman on the right) c. 1850s

Editor: This is an untitled daguerreotype from the 1850s, now at the Art Institute of Chicago, and appears to be two separate portraits hinged together. The one portrait on the left is of a man reclined and to the right another portrait of a man and woman. It feels very intimate, yet distant at the same time. What are your first impressions? Curator: The doubled nature of this image – two images connected – immediately speaks to the construction of identity in the 19th century. Who were these people and what stories do the portraits conceal? The one portrait could suggest the artist, and maybe the portrait with the two individuals the commissioners. The image asks, what were the social dynamics at play? Were notions of class, gender, and race being performed here? What power dynamics are at play? Editor: That’s interesting. So, it’s not just about who is represented but how they are represented, and the implied social relationships? Curator: Exactly. Look at their poses. The clothing choices. Who gets to recline, to relax? How do those choices intersect with race and class? How does gender affect presentation of each of the individual? The muted color palette can indicate wealth due to its technicality to reproduce. The daguerreotype, as an early photographic process, was revolutionary. It democratized portraiture, making it accessible to the burgeoning middle class, so there is also intersectionality. Editor: I never thought of it that way. It's fascinating to think about the complexities embedded in such a seemingly simple image. It’s made me see the piece in a new light! Curator: These portraits challenge us to question what we see and to unpack the narratives they silently convey about an era of significant social change.