Portret van A.W. Berlijn 1890 - 1910

Curator: Welcome to this portrait, taken between 1890 and 1910. It is entitled "Portret van A.W. Berlijn", created with the gelatin-silver print method. Editor: It's compelling. There’s a muted seriousness, yet something intimate in his gaze. I’m drawn to the process itself. A gelatin-silver print means specific choices about materials and darkroom manipulation were consciously undertaken to achieve this aesthetic. Curator: Precisely. And thinking about the sitter—this man, A.W. Berlijn— what did it mean to have one’s portrait taken during this period? Photography, though becoming more accessible, was still tied to notions of status and representation. How might Berlijn have wanted to be seen? What intersections of identity did his very presence in front of that lens represent? Editor: The labour involved interests me – the photographer’s, developing the image and ensuring its quality, alongside the subject’s patience in posing. Also the materials -the gelatin, the silver - speak of colonial supply chains, resource extraction, class stratification – we see those traces in the final product. Curator: Yes! It's about recognizing photography's relationship with systems of power and colonial influence that structured so much of artistic production. Consider how his image circulated: What possibilities did it open for him? How did it affect his self-image and place within society? What does it mean to hold an artifact like this? Editor: What strikes me is its potential to reveal how the portrait has endured. The fragility of the gelatin-silver medium and its sensitivity to light and touch mean we are handling a history that requires us to consider preservation and conservation in relation to cultural memory. Curator: Agreed. Looking at "Portret van A.W. Berlijn", we must understand the image not as a neutral reflection, but as an intersection point of power, representation, and enduring legacies. Editor: Indeed. An intriguing nexus of materials, methods, and contexts shaping what we perceive. It reminds us to question everything.