Portret van een man met snor 1892 - 1906

Machiel Hendricus Laddé made this portrait of a man with a mustache as part of a series of carte-de-visite photographs mounted in an album. These photographs, popular in the late 19th century, were more than mere keepsakes; they were emblems of social identity. The man in the portrait, with his carefully groomed mustache and formal attire, embodies the aspirations and norms of middle-class masculinity of the time. Laddé, who worked as a photographer in the Dutch East Indies and later in the Netherlands, was documenting a society in transition. While the subject remains anonymous, his image speaks volumes about the values of his era: respectability, order, and a clear sense of social hierarchy. The very act of having one's portrait taken and displayed was a statement of belonging and self-worth, a way of participating in the visual culture of the time. Laddé's portrait invites us to reflect on how identity is constructed and performed through images, and how photography can both reflect and shape our understanding of ourselves and others.