Portret van Tjaard Anne Marius Albert van Andringa de Kempenaer 1859 - 1870

Eduard Fuchs created this photograph of Tjaard Anne Marius Albert van Andringa de Kempenaer, using a photographic process that was revolutionary at the time. Thinkers from Walter Benjamin to Roland Barthes have written about the social and cultural impact of photography, which democratized portraiture and the making of images. This carte-de-visite, made in the Netherlands, shows a man of obvious importance, standing confidently, with his hand on a table. Photography at this time was shaped by the conventions of painting and high society. We can imagine the sitter as a member of a wealthy elite, a group that was keen to use the innovations of photography to secure its place in the social hierarchy. Historians examine photographic archives, and census data and read newspapers from the period, to understand the people and institutions of the past. What we see in this photograph is the result of specific cultural, technological, and institutional forces.