Portret van een onbekende vrouw met een hoofddeksel 1859 - 1893

Jacob Hohmann made this carte-de-visite portrait of an unknown woman in The Hague. Small, portable photographs like this one exploded in popularity in the mid-19th century. The carte-de-visite existed within a culture of collecting and display, where albums of photographs became fashionable accessories in middle-class homes. The woman’s clothing and jewelry act as visual codes, signalling her social standing and respectability. The dark colors and somber expression mark her as a figure of mature years, embodying the values of the era. Hohmann's studio in The Hague catered to this burgeoning market for portraiture. Photography studios presented themselves as public institutions, framing their subjects within established conventions of pose and presentation. The historian can use sources like census records, fashion plates, and business directories to reveal the social world inhabited by both the sitter and the artist. The photograph becomes a window onto the aspirations and social structures of its time.