Portret van een jonge vrouw in een stoel, mogelijk Elise Burdet 1907 - 1930

Adolphe Burdet captured this possible portrait of Elise Burdet with a glass slide in an unknown year. The subject is shown seated in a wicker chair, perhaps in a garden setting. Her modest attire, typical of the early 20th century, along with her contemplative gaze, suggest a sense of quiet introspection. In this period, portraiture was beginning to democratize through photography and art institutions started collecting photographs. Consider how this image of a young woman, possibly a member of the artist’s family, fits into the broader history of portraiture during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The rise of photography allowed for a more accessible form of portraiture, challenging the established norms of painting and social class. How did artists use this medium to represent the changing roles and identities of women in society? To fully appreciate the context of Burdet’s photograph, explore resources related to the history of photography, gender studies, and social history. Art is so often contingent on social and institutional context.