Portret van een vrouw 1860 - 1900

This cabinet card, "Portret van een vrouw," was made by Atelier Dentel, employing photographic processes that gained popularity during the late 19th century. Unlike painting or sculpture, photography held the promise of mechanical objectivity. Yet, as this image shows, it soon became a site of commercial and social negotiation. The woman’s clothing and carefully arranged hair speak to bourgeois values. The photographer likely used a large format camera, requiring the sitter to remain still for an extended period, an investment of time and resources. The sepia tone and the ornate card suggest the sitter's desire to project a certain image of herself, aided by the skilled labor and equipment of the Atelier. This photograph, then, is not merely a record, but a carefully constructed artifact of its time. It highlights the intersection of technology, social class, and the aspiration for permanence in a rapidly changing world.