Groepsportret van een gezelschap in historische kostuums before 1894

Hendrik Herman van den Berg made this photograph of a group in historical costumes using a magnesium flash, sometime around the turn of the last century. The photographic process itself is central to understanding this image. Note the way the magnesium flash renders the scene, its stark light washing out the faces, freezing the subjects in a theatrical tableau. It’s a process that democratized portraiture, making it accessible to a wider public, but also introduced a new kind of self-consciousness to the act of being photographed. Consider the labor involved: from the preparation of the chemicals, to the careful posing of the subjects, to the printing and development of the photograph itself. This wasn't a casual snapshot; it was a carefully orchestrated performance, a constructed reality made possible by technological innovation. Photographs like this challenge traditional distinctions between art and craft, and remind us that all images are made through a combination of technical skill, human labor, and social context.