Mansportret 1880 - 1886

This small portrait of a man was created with photography, likely in the late nineteenth century. The lack of information about the artist reminds us that photography, in its early years, was not yet widely accepted as an art form. It occupied a space between craft and industry. The sitter’s clothes and groomed beard speak to the rise of a European middle class. In many ways this new class defined itself through its appearance, and was made possible through industrial production. Yet this photographic portrait is also inflected with social aspiration. Its formal composition echoes the conventions of painting, with the sitter striking a studied pose within a shallow space. Historical sources, such as fashion magazines and trade directories, would help us to understand the social codes at play in this image and photography’s rise as an important cultural form.