Portret van een oude man met snor en baard 1860 - 1875

M. Vollenweider created this portrait of an old man with a moustache and beard using photography. The image presents a man dressed in formal attire; his bow tie and suit jacket are markers of class and status. But what does it mean to look at an old man through a camera lens? This work feels like an artifact of its time. Photography in the 19th century was frequently deployed as a tool to document faces and races, but it could also serve to create a sense of intimacy with the subject. It is worth considering how an individual's identity is performed through the deliberate choices of dress and pose, and what the picture meant for those who viewed it in the past as a record of a life lived, a person loved, and a time gone by. Today, the work stands as an entry point to ponder the complex intersections of representation, memory, and identity, and to consider the silent stories these images hold.