Portret van een man met baard 1877 - 1910

B.J. Pottjewijd’s diminutive photograph, entitled "Portret van een man met baard", captures a bearded man, and seems to come from an album. This portrait, like others from the 19th century, reflects a shifting social landscape in the Netherlands. Photography democratized portraiture. No longer the exclusive domain of the wealthy, the middle classes could now partake in image making, fostering a new sense of identity and aspiration. Photographic studios became increasingly common throughout Europe, with standardized formats and affordable prices, it was the way families could remember and construct their own histories. As an historian, I often examine archival records and photographic journals to better understand the social and economic forces shaping artistic production, remembering that art making and art viewing were not simply aesthetic activities. They were also ways of participating in the cultural conversations of the time.