Portret van een vrouw met een opgestoken vlecht 1859 - 1898

This is a photographic portrait of a woman with an up-do, made by George Lodewijk Mulder in the Netherlands in the late 19th century. Photography in this era was becoming increasingly accessible, but remained a far cry from the ubiquity of picture-taking today. The woman's formal attire and carefully arranged hair suggests a degree of social standing, typical for the sitter in such a portrait. In the Netherlands at this time, social class was often strongly reinforced through dress and personal presentation. The emerging middle class sought to emulate the aristocracy, carefully constructing their image to convey respectability and status. What’s fascinating is to consider how photographs like these contributed to the codification of social norms, reinforcing particular ideals of beauty, age, and class. By delving into archives of similar images, advertisements, and advice manuals, we can begin to understand the cultural work performed by such seemingly simple portraits.