Portret van een zittende man met sigaar in de mond 1880 - 1920

Editor: So, here we have “Portret van een zittende man met sigaar in de mond,” or “Portrait of a seated man with a cigar in his mouth," created sometime between 1880 and 1920. It's a photographic print, and it feels very much of its time. What strikes me most is the almost staged nature of the backdrop. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Ah, it’s a little time capsule, isn’t it? To me, it whispers stories of Sunday afternoons, stiff collars, and dreams puffed out with every swirl of cigar smoke. He seems caught between worlds, doesn't he? Look at the way he poses against that painted landscape - is it real longing for nature, or the height of artificiality at the time? Perhaps both? What do you think he’s thinking about? Editor: I wonder if he's enjoying it. He doesn’t look particularly thrilled. Maybe it’s just what people did back then, tried to look stoic. I hadn’t thought about the artificiality of it. Do you think that was a common theme at the time, presenting something other than reality? Curator: Absolutely. Photography was relatively new, still finding its feet as art and social documentation. So much was about constructing an ideal, masking everyday life with a veneer of dignity, even escapism. Now look at the wear and tear on the image itself – those foxing spots are like little constellations, marking the passage of time… each one tells a silent story too, don't you think? It’s almost as if it invites us to breathe with this man, to taste that era. What have we learned here, then? Editor: That sometimes what isn’t said, what’s implied by the context and the materials, can tell you just as much as the image itself. Thanks!