Portret van de schilder Joseph Delin, halffiguur 1861

Joseph Dupont made this photograph of the painter Joseph Delin sometime in the mid-19th century, using the then-new medium of photography. It is a portrait of an artist by an artist. In the 19th century, photography studios sprung up everywhere, giving the rising middle classes a new way to represent themselves. This portrait is less about personal expression and more about social identity. Delin’s pose and attire reflect the norms of bourgeois respectability, while the photograph itself signifies a shift in artistic representation. As a historian, I look at sources like period newspapers, exhibition catalogs, and artists' biographies to understand the values and institutions that shaped artistic production. This photograph is more than just an image; it’s a document of social and cultural change, and the complex interplay of art, identity, and industry.