Portret van Julia Håkansson in kostuum met muziekinstrument 1870 - 1885

Gösta Florman made this photograph of Julia Håkansson sometime in the 19th century. At first glance, it seems like a simple portrait of a woman in costume with a musical instrument, but there are other elements at play. This image belongs to a tradition of theatrical portraiture that developed alongside the rise of photography. By this time, the photograph had become an affordable and popular way of self-representation, but its democratic promise was often shaped by the conventions of bourgeois portraiture. In this photograph, Julia Håkansson is not represented in her everyday clothes, but in a costume that alludes to a particular social role. She embodies a kind of romantic, slightly exoticized femininity. To understand it better, we can research the history of theatrical portraiture, the conventions of 19th-century photography, and the social role of women in the arts. By analyzing such historical resources, we can understand the meaning of art as something always contingent on its social and institutional context.