Portret van een jonge man 1874 - 1904

Wilhelm Höffert created this photograph, "Portret van een jonge man", sometime in the late 19th century, capturing an image of bourgeois respectability. Höffert was a German photographer, and his studio produced countless images like this one. The sitter’s tailored suit, neatly coiffed hair, and poised expression speak to the values of the rising middle class. Photography in Germany, as elsewhere, became a tool for solidifying social identity. The photograph is small, suggesting it was made for an album, a very popular format at the time. As photography became more accessible, it also became a means of recording and displaying social connections. To understand this image fully, we might consult studio records, social histories of photography, and family albums from the period. Each of these resources could shed light on the networks of cultural meaning in which Höffert and his subjects were enmeshed. This helps us understand art as contingent on social and institutional contexts.