Portret van een jonge man in kostuum met degen, aangeduid als E.J.W. Holleman 1860 - 1905

Curator: Look at this striking gelatin-silver print, likely produced between 1860 and 1905 by Jan Goedeljee. It’s titled "Portret van een jonge man in kostuum met degen, aangeduid als E.J.W. Holleman"—a portrait of a young man in costume, identified as E.J.W. Holleman. Editor: The sepia tones lend it such a somber feel. There's an interesting textural contrast—the softness of the feather against the stiff ruff collar, for example. Curator: Yes, and let's think about performance here. Consider the context of nineteenth-century portraiture, and how staging identity through costume allowed a particular self-representation. Holleman, though maybe not nobility, puts on the costume and wields the symbolic authority of a degen sword. Editor: From a formal point, that sword offers a vertical counterpoint to all the horizontals established by his striped garments. It's quite strategically placed, creating a visual anchor along the central axis. Curator: Right. Costume here isn't mere decoration; it's active self-fashioning. Who was Holleman, and why did he choose this specific historical guise? Was it a personal passion, an aspiration, a family tradition? To what extent can such portraits reinforce existing hierarchies? Editor: Absolutely. Thinking about semiotics, the costume, the sword, even the backdrop contribute to a system of symbols, projecting an idea of status. It all combines in this very specific moment in front of the lens. Curator: It is a reminder that even ostensibly "straightforward" portraiture can become a site of complex cultural production—reinforcing notions of power and performance while raising the interesting question of costuming as class masquerade. The image prompts consideration of gender as performance, even a deconstruction of masculinity through staged effeminacy. Editor: Indeed. It's the subtle tension of historical detail viewed through the lens of careful composition that ultimately compels. Curator: I think this photograph invites us to examine not just the person depicted, but the socio-political climate in which such performative displays became both possible and popular. Editor: And viewed now through our own lenses, the portrait asks to be actively reimagined as so much more than it was.