Portret van een vrouw in een lange jurk met wijde mouwen 1864 - 1886

Wilhelm Frederick Antonius Delboy captured this image of a woman in a long dress using photographic methods common for his time. Given the dress and the presentation, we can assume that this was a woman of some social standing. In the 19th century, portraiture became increasingly accessible to the middle classes. Although photography democratized image-making, conventions of pose and dress were still very important to how people presented themselves and wanted to be seen. The sitter's dress, in particular, would have been a statement of wealth. The photograph is thus a kind of social performance. To understand this image better, one might consult fashion plates and social histories of the period. The historian looks at such images not as simple records, but as complex negotiations of social status and identity.