Portret van een onbekende man met hoge hoed 1855 - 1885

Editor: This is a rather intriguing portrait titled "Portret van een onbekende man met hoge hoed" by H.R. Williams, created sometime between 1855 and 1885. It’s an albumen print, which gives it a warm, sepia tone. There is something so proper and stoic about it, though I'm drawn to it nonetheless. What strikes you most about it? Curator: The albumen print itself is key. Understanding the laborious process—coating paper with egg whites, sensitizing it, exposing the negative, and then meticulously toning and fixing—reveals a great deal about the value placed on portraiture at this time. Consider the expense and time invested compared to other forms of image making. The choice to present it this way suggests a careful attempt to emulate the traditions and connotations of painted portraits, a direct comparison that speaks to the anxieties of new technologies displacing old methods and material value. How do you read the presentation of his clothing and accessories? Editor: Well, his clothing definitely indicates a certain level of status, and holding his top hat like that must mean something, doesn’t it? It seems intentionally performative. Curator: Exactly. His carefully chosen attire – the cut of the coat, the elaborate waistcoat, even the watch chain – it’s all carefully constructed and chosen in relation to mass manufacturing and consumption. This is about a certain kind of persona: someone who embodies bourgeois respectability. What labor went into the production of those textiles? The chair as well. Everything here is a designed object intended for sale. Considering this material context complicates our view, wouldn’t you say? Editor: I never really thought about photography that way – as an industry that relied on so many other industries for its materials. It makes you see the image in a new way. Thanks! Curator: Indeed! It reframes our understanding of the sitter himself. Seeing through a materialist lens allows us to read beyond the surface, uncovering layers of social and economic meaning embedded within this seemingly simple portrait.