Portret van de beeldhouwer en schilder Joseph Jacques Ducaju, halffiguur 1861

Joseph Dupont created this half-figure photograph of the sculptor and painter Joseph Jacques Ducaju. The image presents a portrait of a respectable 19th-century artist, but also highlights the shifting dynamics within artistic circles during this period. Photography, with its reproducible nature, was democratizing portraiture in Belgium and beyond. Before, only the wealthy could afford to have their likeness captured in a painting. Here, Ducaju is depicted in a way that emphasizes his status and profession. The photograph, however, complicates the traditional hierarchy of the arts. It offers a more accessible means of representation. To understand this image fully, we must investigate not only the biographies of those depicted, but also the history of photographic technology, the rise of the middle class, and the changing role of the artist in society. Only then can we appreciate the complex interplay of social forces at play in this seemingly simple portrait.