Portret van een klein kind op een stoel c. 1880 - 1900

Berend Mulder, a photographer working in Groningen, likely made this photographic print of a small child sometime in the late 19th century. It offers a fascinating glimpse into the social conventions surrounding childhood and photography at the time. Note how the child is carefully posed and formally dressed, seated in a wicker chair within an oval frame. This constructed setting, complete with floral arrangements and decorative flourishes, speaks to the growing middle class in the Netherlands and their aspirations to represent themselves in a respectable manner. Photographic studios like Mulder's played a crucial role in shaping these visual codes, offering standardized backdrops and props that reinforced social norms. The very act of commissioning a portrait suggests a level of affluence and a desire to participate in a culture of image-making. To fully understand this image, one might delve into the history of photography as a developing industry and how it was used to record and classify people. One could also analyze how children were perceived and represented in Dutch society. The meaning of this image is always contingent on its social and institutional context.