Portret van een kind, zittend op een stoel 1880 - 1901

Hendrik Boonstoppel made this gelatin silver print of a child in the late 19th or early 20th century. Photography was, and is, a chemical process, relying on reactions between light and silver halides. The results are highly variable, and subject to the artist’s hand. Here, Boonstoppel has manipulated the tonal range of the print to focus our attention on the child's face, setting it against the blurred background that suggests an outdoor scene. As a relatively accessible medium, photography played an interesting role in the art world of the time. It sits between the unique gesture of the painter or sculptor, and the reproducibility of industrial manufacture. Portraiture, once the domain of the wealthy, was opened up to the emerging middle classes. So, we might ask: is this portrait art, craft, or design? Perhaps it is all of these things. Thinking about the materials and process helps us to see this small photograph in its richer social context.