Portret van Humbert de Superville 1851

Editor: This is Jacobus Ludovicus Cornet’s 1851 print, "Portret van Humbert de Superville," an etching that depicts a man sitting at a table illuminated by candlelight. The darkness in this print is intense! What stories do you think this portrait holds? Curator: This striking image offers a window into the 19th-century intellectual world, and a lens through which we might explore the constructions of masculinity and the role of the individual within larger systems of knowledge production. The intense darkness you observed—think about the power dynamics it evokes. Who has access to knowledge? Who is kept in the shadows? Editor: I see what you mean. The single candle highlights Superville, suggesting perhaps he's one of the enlightened ones, or that knowledge is exclusive to him. Curator: Precisely! And let's not ignore the gaze. Humbert de Superville is captured in a moment of intense concentration; his posture exudes purpose and intellect, right? But also, doesn’t this image evoke a certain anxiety of representation and visibility? The etching is a representation _of_ a person, captured in the act of _creation_. Do you think the darkness that dominates this portrait adds to such anxiety? Editor: Yes! It speaks to a potential isolation, but it’s more complex than just that. It suggests an exclusion of other perspectives, solidifying a singular narrative. Curator: Exactly. Reflect on what this might mean in the context of 19th-century society where intellectual spaces were dominated by men, like Superville, whose ideas were privileged while others were suppressed. It serves as a powerful reminder of the need to interrogate how power operates in our own spaces. Editor: This print offers much more than meets the eye. Thank you. Curator: My pleasure, your engagement offers rich new ways to consider the intersection of history, representation, and power, all through the gaze of a single portrait.