Portret van een jonge vrouw 1873 - 1900

Arno Kersten created this portrait of a young woman using photography. During this time, photography was still a relatively new medium, often employed to capture likenesses in a manner previously reserved for the wealthy. Consider this young woman's positioning in society, likely part of the emerging middle class, which now had access to portraiture. Her attire and carefully styled hair speak to the cultural emphasis on presentation and respectability. What does it mean for a woman to be seen and to participate in the act of seeing? How does she navigate the male gaze, and what agency does she have in constructing her own image? She appears composed, yet there's a sense of quiet introspection in her gaze. Perhaps this image is a way for her to claim space and visibility in a world that often sought to confine women to the domestic sphere. Consider the interplay between the public and private self, the weight of societal expectations, and the subtle ways in which individuals seek to carve out their own identities.