Portret van een man met bril 1860 - 1900

W. Vester’s small photographic portrait depicts a man with glasses. The image’s appeal may lie in its demonstration of photographic technology, which was still fairly new when this was made. In the Netherlands, as elsewhere in Europe, photography's rise was concurrent with the development of new modes of seeing and understanding the world. The small size of this print suggests it may have been designed to fit in a family album or locket, suggesting that the subject was someone of personal significance to the owner. The man’s dark suit and clerical collar are suggestive of religious affiliation and are indicative of social status. The advent of photography democratized portraiture, making it accessible to a wider range of social classes, but it also introduced new forms of visual representation and social hierarchy. To better understand this image, historians might research the history of photography in the Netherlands. They might consider the ways in which photographic portraits were used to construct and reinforce social identities, religious affiliations, and class distinctions during this period.