Portret van een meisje 1860 - 1880

This photograph, "Portret van een meisje", was created by A.W. & H. Cox, though we don't know exactly when. The image offers a window into the cultural practices of portraiture and the representation of children in a particular social context, perhaps the late 19th or early 20th century. The girl's pose and clothing, along with the photographic style, speak to the conventions of bourgeois family portraiture during that time. The photograph invites questions about the role of photography in constructing and reinforcing social norms around childhood, gender, and class. Family albums like these served as important tools for solidifying social status and kinship ties. The photographer A.W. & H. Cox would have been participating in the commercial art world, and dependent on commissions from middle class and upper class patrons. By examining studio records, family archives, and period publications, we can understand the cultural values and social relations embedded in this seemingly simple image. After all, the meaning of art is always contingent on the social and institutional context in which it is produced and received.