Gezicht op de poort van de Agnietenschool in Amsterdam 1868 - 1875

Andreas Theodorus Rooswinkel made this photograph of the gate of the Agnietenschool in Amsterdam in the nineteenth century. The Agnietenconvent, or St. Agnes Convent, was repurposed after the Protestant Reformation as a place of education. The photograph emphasizes the stone gate through which pupils would have passed to receive their instruction. Its classical design, complete with heraldic shield, evokes a sense of tradition and authority. This visual language would have been very familiar to the rising middle classes of the Netherlands, who were keen to acquire the markers of cultural capital, such as familiarity with classical architecture. This educational setting would have had a significant impact on shaping the minds of young Dutch citizens. To understand images like these fully, the art historian looks to archives and local histories to understand more about how social institutions were shaping Dutch society in the nineteenth century. Only then can we begin to understand the politics of imagery.