Portret van een vrouw met opgestoken haar en een broche 1884 - 1897

Here you can see a mounted photograph of a woman with her hair up, made by Carel Gustaaf Hisgen, a Dutch photographer who passed away in 1917. While the photograph offers few clues about the sitter's identity, its existence speaks volumes about the changing landscape of representation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Photography was becoming more accessible, allowing a wider range of people to participate in visual culture. Consider the woman's gaze. She isn't smiling and looks slightly to the right. Her expression exudes self-assurance, hinting at a departure from demure and passive representations of women. Note the broach, an indicator of her social standing. The photograph captures a moment of self-definition for this woman. It invites us to reflect on the ways in which ordinary people sought to control their own image and narrative during a time of immense social change.