Studioportret van een man poserend bij een tafel met een hand in de broekzak c. 1863 - 1866

This photograph of a man posing by a table, hand in pocket, was created by the Abdullah Frères. Here, the modern technology of photography is deployed in the service of portraiture, an artistic genre formerly reserved for the wealthy. The man’s formal attire and the luxurious props, like the ornate table and chair, suggest a striving for upper-class status. Note the man's hand in his pocket, a casual pose that exudes a sense of ease and confidence, as if to say "I am in control here". The Abdullah Frères, were official photographers to the Ottoman court, in what is now Turkey. The cultural context of the Ottoman Empire at this time, with its complex relationship to western modernity, informs how we understand the image. Was the man a member of the Ottoman elite, or from elsewhere? Was he self-consciously modelling himself on Western ideals of masculinity? Such questions are best answered through close attention to historical archives, where scholars piece together the complex social and institutional contexts that shape artistic creation.