Dimensions: height 267 mm, width 214 mm, thickness 55 mm, width 435 mm
Copyright: Rijks Museum: Open Domain
This album, of unknown date and maker, contains photographs of notable individuals and reproductions of paintings. In a time before digital archives, these albums served as curated collections, meticulously assembled to reflect personal values, social networks, and cultural aspirations. Consider the unnamed compiler of this album; their choices reveal a desire to document and engage with the broader world. Who were these figures, and what did they represent to the album’s owner? The act of collecting and displaying these images speaks to questions of identity, and the desire to associate with certain figures or ideas. The album format itself is intimate, inviting a close, personal interaction with history and art. It becomes a site where personal memory intersects with public representation. This album offers us a lens through which to examine the social dynamics of the time, and the complex ways in which we construct our identities through the stories and images we choose to preserve.
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