Portret van een staande vrouw met handschoenen, paraplu en hoed 1891 - 1905

This is H.J. Tollens' photograph 'Portret van een staande vrouw met handschoenen, paraplu en hoed'. It presents a standing woman dressed in a formal gown, gloves, hat and holding a parasol. The portrait seems to belong to the late nineteenth century, when photography became more accessible. This meant that the middle class acquired the ability to produce and disseminate their own images. Photography studios flourished as a result. The very act of capturing and preserving the image of a person or a moment became democratized. Before this period the pictorial image was the strict preserve of the upper classes. Photography became a tool to document not only the likeness of a sitter, but also a medium for conveying social status through carefully chosen clothing and props. This artwork gives insight into the cultural and institutional forces that shaped the production of images and their social meanings. To understand this better, we can look to fashion history, studies of photography, and social histories of the late nineteenth century.