Portret van een meisje 1872 - 1879

Hendrik Anthonie Karel Ringler created this portrait of a girl, a photograph of modest dimensions, sometime in the mid-19th century. Its existence as a small, framed image gives us insight into the burgeoning culture of personal photography that was developing at this time. The rise of photography in the 19th century offered a new way to record and remember loved ones, and to declare social status. The girl's clothing and hairstyle speaks to the fashions of the day, but also perhaps to the family's economic standing; the photograph itself acting as a social marker. As an art historian, I look to sources like fashion plates, social commentaries, and the histories of photographic studios to understand how images like this functioned within their original context. The beauty of art lies not just in its aesthetic qualities, but in its ability to reflect and shape the society from which it emerges.