Portret een vrouw, zittend aan een tafel 1866 - 1870

This portrait of a woman sitting at a table was made as a carte-de-visite by A.L. Preuninger. The photographic format was extremely popular in the mid-19th century, a time when the middle classes gained increased social visibility. The woman is formally dressed, wearing a dark, full-skirted gown, an indicator of her social status. Her pose is proper, reflecting the era’s emphasis on decorum and social roles, especially for women. Yet, there’s an undeniable stillness in her gaze, perhaps hinting at the constraints of societal expectations. The backdrop—a classical landscape—seems to place her within a romanticized ideal of nature, while the controlled studio setting speaks to the constructed nature of identity at the time. This tension mirrors the limited agency women had in shaping their own narratives, caught between natural expression and imposed roles. In its intimate scale, this photograph captures both the public presentation of self and the quiet, interior life of a woman navigating her place in a rapidly changing world.