Portret van een man met bakkebaarden

This is Maurits Verveer’s portrait of a man with sideburns. Though undated, it was made using photography, a relatively new medium at the time. The rise of photography had a significant impact on the art world and on Dutch society. Consider the setting of the photograph. The subject is shown wearing a black coat and bow tie. The dark colors denote a certain amount of wealth, or at least a desire to project an image of success and respectability. What is not pictured in the photograph is just as important as what is included. The invention of photography democratized the art of portraiture. Middle-class people were now able to represent themselves in the same manner that only the elite had been able to only a few years before. The Rijksmuseum, as an institution, plays a role in shaping our understanding of this photograph. Through historical research, we can better understand the social implications of this new technology.