Portret van een zittende baby, aangeduid als Willem Doyer 1898 - 1901

This is a photograph by Jan Anthonie Eelsingh, featuring a seated baby, possibly Willem Doyer. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the Netherlands, photography became increasingly accessible. This shift democratized portraiture, making it available to a broader segment of society beyond the elite, for whom painted portraits were the norm. The photograph captures a sense of bourgeois domesticity, and the wicker stroller hints at middle-class aspirations and the trappings of modern family life. The image also operates within a larger cultural context, reflecting the rising prominence of children and childhood as distinct categories worthy of attention and documentation. To fully understand this photograph, one could delve into the history of photography in the Netherlands, the social history of childhood, and the evolving visual culture of the time. Such research would illuminate the photograph's place within broader social and institutional contexts, revealing its significance as more than just a personal memento, but as a reflection of its time.