[Group portrait of the Antoine and Häusermann Families] 1850s - 1860s

This photograph, likely taken in the mid-19th century by Franz Antoine, captures the Antoine and Häusermann families amidst a constructed orientalist backdrop. The women are dressed in elaborate dresses, one wearing a veil, symbols of status and feminine virtue, while the men don more sober, formal attire. Observe how the architectural details behind the family, reminiscent of Moorish or Islamic designs, present an interesting parallel to depictions of the Orient in Renaissance art. These symbolic appropriations reflect a broader cultural fascination. This mirrors, for example, the adoption and transformation of classical motifs during the Renaissance, where ancient forms were re-imagined to convey new cultural ideals. The family's composition, stiff and formal, speaks volumes about the era's social codes, and brings to mind ancestral portraits, that, in a sense, are the forerunners of photography. The cultural memory embedded in this image evokes both a sense of continuity and a subtle commentary on the evolving nature of identity.