Portret van een onbekende man 1871 - 1880

This is a photograph titled, 'Portrait of an Unknown Man' by Bernhard Hakelier, made in Sweden sometime between the late 19th or early 20th century. The portrait gives us insight into the sitter's possible social standing. The man is dressed in a suit and tie, with neatly groomed facial hair, and wearing glasses. This suggests that he was a member of the middle or upper class, as these items of clothing would have been expensive and access to optometry limited to the wealthy. The photograph itself would have been a relatively new technology at the time, and would have been seen as a way to capture a moment in time and preserve it for posterity. As photographic technology developed, it democratised access to portraiture. By looking at historical sources, such as census records, business directories, and social registers, we can begin to piece together a picture of who this man might have been, and what role he played in Swedish society. Art, after all, is contingent on social and institutional context.