Portret van Joseph Joachim met viool c. 1875 - 1890

This is Paul Klemann’s portrait of Joseph Joachim with a violin. It’s a photographic print, pasted onto a card within an album page. Consider for a moment the chemistry that makes this image possible. Silver halide crystals, light-sensitive, are suspended in gelatin and coated on a paper support. The resulting print—likely an albumen print, given the period—has a distinctive sheen and tonal range. But beyond the alchemy, there’s also the social aspect to consider. Photography in the 19th century was, for the most part, a commercial endeavor. Photographers like Klemann ran studios, and portraiture was a business. It democratized image-making, and yet the price of a portrait meant that it was still largely the domain of the middle and upper classes. Thinking about this photograph, we see how it bridges art, science, and commerce. It challenges our traditional hierarchies, inviting us to consider not just the image but the hands and the economic forces that made it possible.