Portret van een onbekende vrouw met een meisje c. 1870 - 1920

This photographic portrait of an unknown woman and a girl was made by Fotografie Modern. The studio name is printed on the card mount, advertising the business in Amsterdam and Boskoop. At the time this photograph was made, the late 19th or early 20th century, photography was becoming more accessible to the middle classes. As a commercial product, photography relied on factory production of dry glass plates, and standardized chemical processes to develop images, as well as mass produced paper. These material and processes of photographic production, combined with the studio's business, had the effect of democratizing portraiture. Rather than commissioning a painted portrait, a family could visit a photographer's studio, and, for a modest price, have their likeness captured in a permanent form. Looking at this photograph, we can imagine the studio visit as a social ritual, with the sitters dressing in their finest clothes, and carefully composing themselves for the camera. Recognizing photography as both art and industry invites us to consider the social dynamics of consumer culture and to appreciate photography's impact on representation and identity.