Portret van een man met baard 1858 - 1874

This is a portrait of a bearded man by A. Böeseken, made in the Netherlands at an unknown date. This small photograph, likely part of a larger collection, hints at the rise of photography as a tool for documenting identity and social standing. Consider the cultural context of the time. In the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution brought about significant social changes. The rise of the middle class created a demand for portraiture as a means of asserting status and respectability. Photography, more accessible than painting, became a popular choice. The man's attire - a suit and tie - speaks to a certain level of formality and perhaps professional standing. The beard, a common fashion of the era, adds to the sense of bourgeois respectability. To truly understand the work, we might turn to archives, social histories, and studies of photography's development as a cultural practice. These resources can reveal the complex interplay of art, identity, and social change in the 19th century.