Portret van een meisje 1881 - 1908

Nicolaas Schuitvlot created this portrait of a girl using the photographic techniques of his time. This wasn't just art; it was a social practice, part of how people saw themselves and wanted to be seen. Think about the material reality of photography in that era. Each print required a complex chemical process, a darkroom, and careful timing. It wasn't as simple as snapping a photo on your phone! This made each portrait a valuable object, a considered representation. Photography democratized portraiture, making it accessible to a wider range of people than painting ever could. But it also created new forms of labor – the photographer, the studio assistant, the manufacturers of chemicals and equipment. This portrait is therefore not just an image of a girl, but also a product of a rapidly changing industrial world. It reminds us that even seemingly simple images are the result of complex social and economic forces.