Portret van Paula Schmidt 1880 - 1920

This is a portrait of Paula Schmidt by Christian Beitz. It’s a photograph, of course, and although we don’t have a firm date for it, the style suggests that it probably dates from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. The image operates within established conventions for formal portraiture. The sitter, most likely a member of the middle or upper class, is presented as both respectable and refined. Consider the pose, costume and hairstyle which speaks to the social and cultural norms of the time. In its time, photography was on its way to becoming a popular, even democratic medium, yet professional photographers maintained considerable control over how their sitters were presented. To fully understand a piece like this, historians might research the photographic practices of the time, the social history of portraiture, and the role of photography in shaping identity. Through this research, we gain insight into the social and institutional contexts that shaped its creation.