Portret van een vrouw Possibly 1913 - 1926

This small photograph shows a young woman with a large hat, made by Jan Gottfried Stütner. What can we learn from this image about the Netherlands at the turn of the century? The woman’s dress and hat are markers of social class, suggesting she comes from a wealthy family. But also it shows the rise of photography as a popular medium; a way to capture images of people across social classes. Photography studios were institutions in their own right. The writing in the top corner of the photograph is a trace of the archive, reminding us that this image comes from a specific time and place. The historian can use resources such as archives, newspapers, and census records to reconstruct the social and institutional context of this photograph. By studying this artwork, we can understand how social class and institutions shaped the lives of women in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 20th century.