Gezicht op het weeshuis van Enkhuizen 1870 - 1900

This photograph of the Enkhuizen orphanage was captured by De Vries and Huijsen Junior, using a process involving light-sensitive materials to create this permanent image. The photograph’s sepia tone and the texture of the paper itself contribute to the image's sense of history and distance. Photography, as a medium, democratized image-making, making it more accessible than painting. This shift reflects broader social changes of the time, including industrialization and the rise of the middle class. The figures in the image, likely associated with the orphanage, remind us of photography's role in documenting social conditions and institutions. This connects to wider issues of labor, class, and the evolving social landscape of the era. Photography was revolutionary in its capacity to capture accurate representations, but also in changing our very perception and understanding of the world.