Studioportret van een baby in een witte jurk c. 1863 - 1866

J.H. v.d. Heijden created this studio portrait of a baby in a white dress, using photographic techniques common at the time. The image captures a child seated in a decorative chair, adorned in a pristine white dress and dark shoes, embodying a Victorian ideal of purity and innocence. These portraits were carefully staged and circulated as tokens of familial pride and social standing. However, they also speak to broader cultural narratives about childhood. The child's serious expression challenges sentimental expectations. The crisp dress and carefully arranged pose speak to the labour involved in maintaining these ideals. This tension offers insight into the complex intersections of identity, gender, and class. Consider what such an image may have meant to families of the era, and what it might suggest about our contemporary relationship with identity and representation.