Portret van C. de Charro, staand c. 1860 - 1875

This photographic portrait of C. de Charro was created by Robert Severin, a Dutch photographer, sometime in the mid-19th century. The carte-de-visite, popular then, operated as a kind of social currency, mass-produced for circulation among friends and acquaintances. Consider the codes of representation at play here. De Charro is formally dressed, clutching what appears to be a book. These details speak volumes about the sitter's social standing and intellectual inclinations. The rise of photography coincided with the growth of the middle class, and portraiture became a means of asserting one's place in the social hierarchy. The institutions of art played a crucial role in shaping these visual languages, dictating standards of beauty and taste. To truly understand this image, we might delve into genealogical records to uncover de Charro’s family history, or explore photographic archives to compare this portrait with others from the same period. Art history, after all, is inseparable from social and institutional history.