Portret van een man met snor 1870 - 1900

This is a photographic portrait of a moustached man by Jos. Raab, preserved in a photo album. The visual codes in this image, from the man's tailored suit and neatly-trimmed moustache to the stylized framing in the album, speak to the rise of a European urban middle class, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Photography became more accessible, allowing for the democratization of portraiture. No longer the exclusive domain of the wealthy who could commission painted portraits, photography offered a new form of self-representation to a broader segment of society. Family albums, like the one containing this portrait, became important tools in the construction of family narratives and social identity. These albums reflect not only individual aspirations but also broader cultural values related to family, status, and memory. As a historian, I am drawn to the social conditions that made this image possible and the cultural meanings it carries. By consulting archives, social histories, and studies of visual culture, we can better understand the role of images like this in shaping individual and collective identities.