Portret van Hiltje Middelbeek 1890 - 1910

This portrait of Hiltje Middelbeek was made by D. Fraenkel & Zoon in Amsterdam, using photographic processes common at the time. This was a period when photography was becoming more accessible, moving from a niche practice to a commercial service. Consider the making of this object, the photographic print. It’s not exactly handmade, but not quite mass-produced either. It occupies a fascinating middle ground, reliant on both skilled operators and standardized chemical processes. Think about the labor involved: not just the photographer, but also the people who prepared the chemicals, printed the images, and even those who made the paper. The photograph’s sepia tone, a result of the developing process, gives the image a sense of warmth and timelessness. The very act of capturing someone’s likeness was becoming democratized. This small portrait offers us a glimpse into a society grappling with new technologies and new ways of representing itself. It prompts us to think about how photography changed our perception of portraiture, moving it away from the exclusive realm of painting and into a more widely accessible domain.