At the Beach c. 1900

Willem de Jong captured this photograph “At the Beach” with an unknown camera in the Netherlands. It is a scene of leisure, but this carefully staged photograph invites us to consider the social dynamics that shape artistic production. Consider the cultural context of the Netherlands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its strict class divisions. We have the working class man and the well-to-do children on horseback. What does it mean that this image was made in a place of leisure, a place where class divisions are blurred? The beach could be seen as a place where social classes encounter one another. As art historians, we can dig into the period’s photographic archives to better understand the public role of photography in shaping social perceptions. Only with additional information can we know if this image critiques or reinforces existing social norms.