Operatie aan de opperste oogflap before 1873

Editor: Here we have a gelatin-silver print titled "Operatie aan de opperste oogflap," made before 1873 by A. de Montméja. It shows a close-up of what appears to be eye surgery, which definitely makes me uneasy. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It’s unsettling, I agree, but it’s also a potent document. Look at the way this photograph challenges our notions of portraiture. Instead of idealizing the sitter, it presents a vulnerable, medicalized body. How does this disruption of traditional portraiture speak to the power dynamics inherent in medical practice at the time? Editor: That's interesting! I hadn’t considered that angle. I was so focused on the literal invasiveness of the surgery. So you're saying it is more than just a record of a surgical procedure? Curator: Precisely! Consider the historical context: this photograph emerges alongside a burgeoning medical industry. The photographed surgery might also serve as evidence, both legitimizing medical authority, while perhaps prompting the viewer to question that authority? What about the gaze of the viewer, in a modern context? Editor: That's a strong point. We bring our contemporary understandings of ethics and consent into viewing it, which must shape our interpretations of both medical practices and portraiture, in a photograph. Curator: Indeed. It really shows us how much medical progress has been made since the late 1800s and what these patients must have endured without today's medicine and technology. The photo's clinical style invites viewers to question, or reconsider, the relationship between progress and bodily autonomy. Editor: Thank you. I had not fully thought about how many ways photographic imagery reinforces or resists prevailing power structures. It will definitely make me see the next portrait in a different light.