Dimensions: height 101 mm, width 63 mm
Copyright: Rijks Museum: Open Domain
Pieter Vlaanderen made this portrait of an unknown boy in the Netherlands, sometime in the mid-19th century, using the then relatively new medium of photography. Small portraits like this were commonly used as calling cards amongst the rising middle classes of the time, but in this case the subject is unknown. He looks like a young man of means, dressed in the style of the day, which can tell us much about the social norms of the time. What's most interesting is to think about what kind of social role these images played. Were they a mark of status? Were they romantic keepsakes? As historians, we try to understand how images like this reflect the culture that produced them. By looking at fashion, the history of photography, and the social conventions of the time, we can begin to understand the social world that this young man inhabited. The study of portraits can reveal a lot about social values and individual aspirations of the period.
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