Portret van een onbekende staande man 1851 - 1864

This portrait of an unknown man was made by Gustav Schauer, a photographer active in the mid-19th century. The photograph, which is of the ‘carte de visite’ format, would have been relatively inexpensive to produce, and therefore available to a wider section of the middle classes in Europe. The man's formal attire signals his social standing and adherence to bourgeois norms, while the painted backdrop hints at wealth and refinement. Photography in this era served multiple purposes: it was a means of personal documentation, a tool for social climbing, and a reflection of the sitter's desired public persona. The photographic studio also became an important social institution. To fully understand this image, we might delve into archives of photography studios, historical accounts of bourgeois culture, and collections of portraiture to reconstruct the social and institutional contexts that shaped its creation and meaning. This way, we can start to interpret the ways that this portrait reflects and reinforces the social structures of its time.