Portret van een onbekend zittend meisje en een onbekende staande jongen c. 1855 - 1870

James Gregson captured this photographic portrait of an unknown girl and boy with the daguerreotype process, a popular technique in the mid-19th century. Think about this image as a window into a historical moment, a time when photography was democratizing portraiture, making it accessible to a wider range of social classes. The clothing and posture of the sitters speak volumes about the social expectations and gender roles of the era. The boy, standing and formally dressed, embodies a certain sense of responsibility, while the girl, seated and holding an object in her lap, is presented in a more domestic light. What stories are hidden in the surface of this image? This portrait not only immortalizes its subjects, but also invites us to consider the narratives of identity and representation that were unfolding in the Victorian era.