Portret van een meisje c. 1865

This is a photograph of a girl, made by Jacobus van Gorkom Jr. who was active in the Netherlands in the mid-19th century. The image is printed on a paper card, using a chemical process that was at the cutting edge of technology at the time. Photography was an industry in its infancy, and studios like Van Gorkom's were on the front lines of the business. Looking at this image, it's hard to miss the degree of staging involved. The painted backdrop, the somewhat awkward pose. What is this chair doing here? The portrait reflects the democratizing effect of photography. Whereas painted portraits had previously been available only to the wealthy, this new medium made it possible for the middle class to capture their own likeness. The resulting images offer us today a vivid glimpse into the fashion and social values of the time. In short, photography was an agent of social change.