Stilleven met vleugel van een vogel 1856 - 1865

Alphonse Jeanrenaud made this still life photograph, titled "Stilleven met vleugel van een vogel," meaning "Still Life with a Bird's Wing" in Dutch. Captured through the lens, the image presents a bird's wing, its feathers displaying intricate patterns and textures. The wing's form and the monochrome palette highlight the materiality of photography itself – the chemical processes that render light and shadow into a tangible image. Jeanrenaud employs photography, a medium intertwined with industrialization and mass production. The photographic process democratized image-making, differing from the handcrafted nature of painting or sculpture, and thus reflecting shifts in labor and production during the late 19th century. By focusing on a delicate, natural form, the work invites us to consider the relationship between technology, nature, and artistic representation. It challenges conventional notions of art, urging us to appreciate the craftsmanship inherent in photographic practice and to understand how materials, making, and context contribute to the artwork's full meaning.