Portret van een onbekende oude man in een stoel 1862 - 1868

Eugène Louis Danguy made this portrait of an unknown old man in a chair, sometime in the 19th century. Danguy was active in a period when photography was increasingly used to document and classify people. This portrait shows the sitter as a figure of established society: his posture, clothing, and the ornate chair all speak to a certain level of bourgeois comfort and status. Yet, the man’s identity is obscured by time. He remains an anonymous figure, representative of a generation whose stories have been largely forgotten. Portraits like these served as a form of social currency. They allowed individuals to present themselves in a manner that reflected their desired social position. But what does it mean when the individual fades into anonymity, leaving behind only the trappings of his era? The image invites us to consider the complex relationship between identity, representation, and the passage of time. It serves as a poignant reminder of our shared mortality.