Portret van een meisje met vlechten in haar haren 1867 - 1884

This small photograph from the studios of Wegner & Mottu captures a young girl with braided hair. Photographs such as this were common in the late 19th century. Here in the Netherlands, as elsewhere in Europe, photography studios emerged as important social institutions that helped families record their histories. The rise of photography was a disruptive moment for painters, and the institutions that promoted painting. Photography opened portraiture to a wider population than ever before. Whereas previously only the upper classes could afford to commission a painted portrait, photography offered the middle classes and even the working classes the chance to participate in image making. Analyzing a photograph like this requires us to consider the means of production in the studio and the ways that photographs were used in family life. What other sources might help us understand this image better? Family letters, diaries and archives can help us get a richer understanding of how images shape the social world.