Drie portretten van meisjes met hoeden 1900 - 1930

These three portraits of girls with hats were made by Georg Gerlach & Co. sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. They give us a peek into the world of photographic portraiture from that era, when photography studios became prolific, creating a powerful democratization of image-making. No longer were portraits limited to the wealthy elite, now middle-class families could have their likeness captured too. This boom in photography created a demand for skilled photographers, developing and printing experts, and studio managers, but also opened new creative avenues for set design, styling, and retouching. Think about the labor involved in setting up the studio, positioning the subjects, developing the glass plate negatives, printing the photographs, and mounting the finished prints into albums. The cultural significance of the images lies not only in their aesthetic appeal, but also in the stories of those who made them. These portraits invite us to consider the broader social and economic contexts in which they were produced, blurring the lines between art, craft, and industry.