Fotoreproductie van (vermoedelijk) een prent van Lodewijk XIV, koning van Frankrijk c. 1863 - 1880

Étienne Neurdein made this photographic reproduction of a print of Louis XIV, King of France. Visual codes like ermine robes and elaborate lace are readily associated with royalty, specifically French royalty of the 17th and 18th centuries. But how can photography, an art form developed in the 19th century, speak to the politics of imagery from centuries before? Neurdein was a commercial photographer in France who specialized in reproducing images of monuments and artworks. Looking at this image, we have to consider the long institutional history of visual art. In particular, we need to investigate how photography changed the way that people thought about portraiture and how the proliferation of photographic images changed long-standing social hierarchies. Historical research can tell us more about the changing function of images, and we must use these resources if we want to understand the complex social dynamics that shape the meaning of art.