Portret van Darwine d'Abo, vier jaar oud 1881 - 1904

Brainich & Leusink, based in Arnhem, Netherlands, made this photographic print called 'Portret van Darwine d'Abo, vier jaar oud', or Portrait of Darwine d'Abo, Four Years Old. Photographic prints like this one were a major form of vernacular photography in the late 19th century. This image creates meaning through its visual codes, cultural references, and historical associations. The child is formally dressed in a tailored coat and matching hat. Darwine d'Abo’s clothing suggests a middle-class or upper-class background, and we could do more research into the d'Abo family and their connection to Arnhem and the Netherlands in the 19th century. Family portraits were of course widespread, but formal portraits were more expensive, and generally commissioned by families who wished to demonstrate wealth. The social function of art, like this portrait, is contingent on social and institutional contexts.