Portret van een vrouw c. 1861 - 1864

Robert Severin made this albumen print portrait of a woman sometime in the mid-19th century. The woman's dress and hair suggest a Dutch bourgeois background. She wears a dark, high-necked dress trimmed with lace, and her hair is pulled back into a neat bun. The book she holds suggests literacy and leisure, while the patterned carpet and draped fabric indicate a comfortable domestic setting. Photography emerged in the 19th century alongside the rise of the middle class, offering a new way to represent oneself. Studios cropped up everywhere, and the democratization of portraiture changed what it meant to see and be seen. What’s interesting about early photographs is the way they mimic the conventions of painting, with formal poses and staged backdrops designed to convey status and respectability. Understanding this portrait means looking at the changing institutions and technologies of image-making. By studying sources such as photography journals, studio directories, and social histories, we can gain insights into the cultural meanings embedded in this seemingly simple image.