Portret van drie mannen Possibly 1897

E. Schlenker made this portrait of three men, size 136 by 96 mm, location and date unknown. This image, with its formal arrangement of figures, tells us a lot about the social conventions of its time. The suits and ties, the carefully groomed facial hair, and the studied poses all speak to a desire for respectability and social standing. The photograph comes from an album. You could study the other photographs in it to learn more about the men’s social circle and their place in society. We might consider the rise of photography as a technology and its impact on portraiture. Before photography, only the wealthy could afford to have their likeness captured in a painting. Photography made portraiture more accessible, allowing a wider range of people to participate in this form of visual representation. Was this one of the first photographs that the men had taken of themselves? By looking at the material culture of the time – clothing, furniture, and other visual cues – we can begin to understand the social and cultural context in which this photograph was made.