Portret van een zittende baby 1877 - 1900

This is an undated photograph entitled, “Portret van een zittende baby” by B.J. Pottjewijd. Active during a time when the nuclear family was being ideologically constructed as the cornerstone of Western society, Pottjewijd offers us a glimpse into the visual culture that supported this phenomenon. The baby, propped up in what looks like a miniature throne, is situated squarely within a bourgeois ideal of domesticity. But what does it mean to pose a baby, to capture its image, and to circulate that image? The photograph may function as a celebration of new life, but it also underscores the weight of societal expectations placed upon this small being. Gender, class, and even the subtle politics of cuteness are all at play here. In its quiet way, this baby portrait encapsulates complex social dynamics, offering a snapshot, if you will, of the aspirations and anxieties embedded in early photographic portraiture.