Portret van een jongen op een hobbelpaard en een staand meisje 1855 - 1865

Editor: Here we have "Portret van een jongen op een hobbelpaard en een staand meisje" created sometime between 1855 and 1865 by Establecimiento Fotografico. It's a gelatin-silver print. The details are a bit faded, but it definitely gives me a sense of formality. What stands out to you about this image? Curator: The faded quality you noticed speaks volumes. Consider the material reality of early photography – the laborious process of creating gelatin-silver prints. Each portrait represented a significant investment of time and resources, both for the photographer and the subjects. Editor: So, the formality comes from the cost and labor? Curator: Exactly. This wasn’t a casual snapshot. It was a constructed image, reflecting the desire of the emerging middle class to emulate the aristocracy and memorialize themselves through new technologies. Note the deliberate poses, the carefully chosen garments, and even the prop, the hobby horse, which might be read as a status symbol. What does the materiality say about social status? Editor: It says photography was inaccessible to everyone…almost a luxury. So, we see an effort of families wanting to perpetuate their image in society. What about the damage of the picture, does it contribute to this vision? Curator: The physical degradation adds another layer. It underscores the fragility and ephemerality of material objects and questions their long-term function as conveyors of identity and memory. Editor: That’s fascinating. I never thought about photography in terms of its physical labor and cost. Now it makes me think differently about how people regarded portraits back then. Curator: Precisely. By focusing on materials and production, we gain insights into the values and social structures of the time.