Portret van een jonge man met bril Possibly 1891 - 1895

This is a photograph titled ‘Portret van een jonge man met bril’ by Louis Devolder. Though undated, the sepia tones, style of dress, and photographic framing suggest that this image was likely made in Belgium sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. As a cultural artifact, the photograph can tell us a great deal about the history of technology, portraiture, and social class. The man’s suit, shirt and glasses speak to his economic status as belonging to the middle or upper classes, while the very existence of the image tells us about the rise of photography as a popular means of representation. Though painted portraits were once available only to the aristocracy, photography made portraiture newly accessible, expanding the market for images and creating new visual expectations for representing the self. Understanding the cultural work that this image performs involves research into the history of photography, the material culture of fashion, and the social history of Belgium.