The Artist as Centerpiece. The Image of the Artist in Studio Photographs of the Nineteenth Century

In the winter of 1903 and during the spring of 1904, the Dutch photographer Sigmund Löw (1845–1910) and one of his assistants, Henry Jan Bordes (1870–1963), visited at least 35 artists with the intention of capturing their image in the studio. Both photographers worked for Atelier S. Herz, an Amsterdam studio that had a lucrative sideline in the fabrication of mirrors and, more interestingly, in the sale and framing of artworks. At some point around 1900, Herz began to focus on photography, mostly turning out portraits on demand and publishing photos as picture postcards, as well as acquiring an offset machine and setting up a distribution system. The subjects of the picture postcards were mostly cityscapes made either by Herz's own employees or by other photographers, such as Pieter Oosterhuis (1816–1885). Herz also did a brisk trade in the sale of portraits of celebrities, for example actors. By 1903 Atelier Herz had become a professional photography studio, abandoning the mirror factory and other activities. ¹