Portret van een man 1875 - 1896

This is a portrait of a man by Paul Joseph Nicolas Nestor Schaffers, made with photography. Photographs like this one were originally the province of the wealthy, but they were becoming more accessible to the middle classes at the time Schaffers was working. Consider the way that photographs in general democratize the tradition of portraiture. Instead of only the elite being able to afford a painted portrait, which was a signifier of their social status, it was now easier for the middle class to acquire portraits of themselves. The production of portraits was also heavily impacted by institutions. For example, there were many photography studios that catered to different social classes. The type of studio that a person chose would determine the style and quality of their portrait. Schaffers for example would have likely had a studio in a city such as Maastricht, but it is up to the historians to discover such evidence! Photography has changed the way we see ourselves. It has also changed the way we think about art.