Portret van een man in een jas met een strik 1864 - 1886

Wilhelm Frederick Antonius Delboy made this photographic portrait of a man in a coat with a bow tie, but the precise date and location remain unknown. What can we deduce from the image itself about the social context of its creation? The man's formal attire – the dark coat and bow tie – signal his belonging to a particular social class, likely upper middle class or higher in the Netherlands. During this era, photography studios were emerging as new institutions, democratizing portraiture to a degree, but still largely serving those with disposable income. The subject's somewhat stiff pose and the formal composition speak to the conventions of early portrait photography. Further understanding requires delving into archives of Dutch photography, studying studio directories, and exploring the Delboy's artistic career, shedding light on the social networks and the economic structures that enabled the production and consumption of images like this one. The meaning of this portrait is contingent on its social and institutional context, which demands further historical digging.