Portret van een man met een snor en een strikje c. 1860 - 1900

Adolf Lasinsky, active in Roermond, likely created this photographic portrait using the Carte de Visite technique. The cultural significance of such images in the 19th century is hard to overstate. Photography democratized portraiture, making it accessible to a wider population beyond the elite, which had previously been the sole patrons of painted portraits. Consider the rise of the middle class in Europe at this time. As new social strata gained economic power, they also sought the cultural capital that had once been restricted to the aristocracy. Family portraits became a way of asserting one's place in the social order, of marking one’s ascension. Historians often use collections of photographs like this as invaluable resources to study changing fashions, social customs, and even the evolving concept of the self. In many ways, these images offer a fascinating reflection of the values and aspirations of a rapidly changing society.