Portret van twee meisjes 1880 - 1900

J.J. Gull made this photograph, “Portret van twee meisjes” – or Portrait of Two Girls - using a photographic process that was then gaining popularity. This particular image creates meaning through its visual codes, cultural references, and historical associations. The girls in the photograph appear to be from a middle-class family in the Netherlands. Note the clothing and the studio setting of the image. The Netherlands in this period was experiencing significant social and economic change, and portraiture was a way for families to mark their place in a rapidly changing society. Photographs like this one would have been displayed in homes as a symbol of family pride and social status, and we must understand it in the context of the emerging visual culture. To better understand this image, further research could be conducted into photographic studios in the Netherlands. In that way, the meaning of this artwork is contingent on its social and institutional context.