Portret van Julie Hekking 1903 - 1921

This portrait of Julie Hekking was produced by Johannes Maria Petrus Antonius Huijsen, using photographic paper and chemical processes. Photography changed portraiture forever. Before its invention, if you wanted your likeness recorded for posterity, you had to find a painter or sculptor, which was a time-consuming and expensive process. The rise of photography created a new type of accessibility, as commercial studios sprung up offering relatively affordable portraits to a broader public. Looking at this image, you might consider how much labor went into the production of photography. From the making of the paper to the mixing of the chemical solutions, photography represents a marriage of handcraft and industrial production. What was once a service only afforded by the upper classes, gradually became accessible to the working classes. Photography democratized image making, with consequences still felt today. The final print is a testament to the processes involved in its creation and the wider social context in which photography was produced and consumed.