Portret van de heer Van der Hoeven Jaarsveld 1819 - 1880

Franciscus Bernardus Waanders made this print of Mr. Van der Hoeven Jaarsveld, but we don't know when. Prints like these were a vital part of nineteenth-century visual culture in the Netherlands. They made images available to a wide public. Look at the way the sitter presents himself. He's a serious man of affairs. He wears a modern suit. And he is seen in front of a draped curtain, a holdover from aristocratic portraiture. So what social function did images like this perform? Well, it was a time of rapid social change. The old aristocracy was giving way to a new middle class. Prints like this helped to define what it meant to be a respectable member of this new social order. As historians, we can look at prints like this one and ask: what did it mean to be a man in the Netherlands at this time? We might consult conduct books, fashion plates, and newspaper archives. All these sources can help us better understand the visual codes of class and social identity.