Portret van een vrouw met een lange rok en een jasje c. 1880 - 1890

Bernardus Bruining captured this portrait of a woman, using photography, a relatively new medium at the time. Photographs like this one were made through chemical processes. Light was captured on a treated surface, fixing an image in a way that painting never could. What’s interesting is how this new, industrial mode of production impacted our perception of portraiture. The subject's dress, with its meticulous ruffles and folds, speaks volumes about the labor involved in creating and maintaining such garments. These kinds of portraits democratized representation, but still reflected a certain aspiration to middle class values. Photography changed the social landscape of image-making, and the way we understand skill and value, in art and society.